Recently my fiancee and I have been working on lessons concerning communication. I don't need much conviction to know that I'm a sinner, but to be made to actively hunt down sin and reflect on my pride-filled nature it becomes very obvious just how wicked I am. I'm am so grateful that God is using my fiancee to expose my sinful disposition and I am even more joyful that she is willing to show grace and forbear with my sin. I think I can speak for her when I say we are both uncomfortable with this exposed feeling but I think we are both equally joyful that God is using this time to bring out the dross in our hearts. Isiah 1:25 says:
I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.
I've never had a lye burn, but from what I understand it's searingly painful. What I have experienced however, is God, through his Spirit, working in my heart to dredge up all these secret, pride filled sins. That exposure of my heart is an experience that is significantly less than pleasant. Scripture likens God to a metalworker on more than one occasion because we are indeed filthy creatures. He takes us in as raw ore, dirty and worthless in its current state, and begins His work in us. It is said that a skilled silversmith can tell when the metal is most pure when he can see his own image perfectly reflected in its molten surface. Malachai 3:3 has this to say about why we must be broken before we can be built up:
He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.
Read that again and note the order of how we respond to our refinement process. God must first purify us before we can bring offerings in righteousness to Him. This should cause us to rejoice knowing that in Christ we have ultimately been purified, but we don't yet mirror our refiner perfectly. So, while we have cause to be glad, knowing we have received God's grace, we can also be aware that there is lots of dross in our hearts and we'll need to sit in the crucible until we're given our new bodies in glory. Take joy knowing that God is interested in seeing his own image in us, even if the process is often painful.
I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.
I've never had a lye burn, but from what I understand it's searingly painful. What I have experienced however, is God, through his Spirit, working in my heart to dredge up all these secret, pride filled sins. That exposure of my heart is an experience that is significantly less than pleasant. Scripture likens God to a metalworker on more than one occasion because we are indeed filthy creatures. He takes us in as raw ore, dirty and worthless in its current state, and begins His work in us. It is said that a skilled silversmith can tell when the metal is most pure when he can see his own image perfectly reflected in its molten surface. Malachai 3:3 has this to say about why we must be broken before we can be built up:
He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.
Read that again and note the order of how we respond to our refinement process. God must first purify us before we can bring offerings in righteousness to Him. This should cause us to rejoice knowing that in Christ we have ultimately been purified, but we don't yet mirror our refiner perfectly. So, while we have cause to be glad, knowing we have received God's grace, we can also be aware that there is lots of dross in our hearts and we'll need to sit in the crucible until we're given our new bodies in glory. Take joy knowing that God is interested in seeing his own image in us, even if the process is often painful.
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