A word about Refinement.

I know I haven't posted much on what I'm studying but I did want to share some food for thought. I've been going thru the minor prophets and have really been encouraged by many verses. Today I was reading in Zechariah and came to this verse...

And I will bring the third part through the fire,
and will refine them as silver is refined, and
will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name,
and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people:
and they shall say, The LORD [is] my God.
Zechariah 13:9

I remembered reading about silver being refined in one of the recent books I've read (I admit I don't remember which one it was) but the author shared this beautiful illustration of how silver is refined. I was able to find the illustration online:

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. "This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."

To further study out this idea of refinement I looked up what exactly the definition is. My dictionary defines a refiner as "one who makes free from impurities, vulgarity, commonness". I was intrigued to see the word commonness in the definition. We usually think of refinement being used to draw out and purge from impurities but the refinement that God desires in our lives is more than being free from impurities..it is to be free from commonness too!

In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter says "But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" We are to be a peculiar people, not common! In Christ we are royal, holy, standing in Christ's "marvellous light". Why would we ever settle for commonness when we already have all these things simply by our position in Christ?!

What a challenge! Am I common? Do I desire God's refinement; to be free from commonness? Does He see His image in me?

The last part of Zechariah 13:9 is also such an encouragement. Yes, God refines us thru fire, he tries us as gold but in all of that he hears us. When we are going thru those fires and trials God hears when we call. He makes it known that we are His people, he has not forsaken us...and we can be confident that "the Lord is my God". He is the same God no matter what we face and that His ultimate goal is to see His image reflected in our lives.

Some simple spiritual analogies

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down,
and when thou risest up.
Deuteronomy 6:7

Recently, I have been challenged by this verse. Specifically to incorporate spiritual lessons and truths into everyday activities and conversations. While I still have far to grow in this area; I wanted to share a couple of recent analogies that have come up in talking with my kids. I hope these will help you (as they have helped me) to see how truths about God are all around us.

The first analogy is one that I've heard several times before but was recently able to discuss with the kids. While we were baking brownies one day they asked to taste some of the individual ingredients; one being the vanilla and the other being the cocoa powder. After tasting these (and realizing they don't taste nearly as good as they smell) I explained how that sin is like that. Often sin looks and "smells" enticing but once we have taken a taste we recognize that it isn't nearly as fun/enjoyable as we thought. I asked the kids if they wanted another taste, they both said no :) and so I explained how that we should have the same feeling toward sin and not forget the true taste of it when we encounter it in our lives again.

The second analogy happened earlier today and is one that I'm going to share with the kids but hadn't thought about until Hailey left the room. Hailey pulled a glow in the dark eraser (which happened to be cross shaped) out of the cabinet. She asked why it wasn't glowing anymore. I explained that glow in the dark things need to be set in the light so they can absorb the light which, when placed in a dark cabinet, etc, will cause it to glow and that if it is left in the dark the light will fade and it will not glow anymore. After Hailey left the room I was thinking how this illustrates the importance of being in the Light (thru spending time with God) so that we can absorb His Light and have it shine thru us in this dark world. The more time we spend in the dark (without "recharging") the more our light fades and we become like the dark world around us.

I hope these two simple analogies will encourage you to look around and listen for those teachable moments that help to teach God's Truths diligently.