“Take away the dross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel” Proverbs 25:4
Have you ever watched a silversmith work his magic? It’s quite intriguing to see the excruciatingly hot furnace burn everything to ash, leaving only the purest of the metals. The leftover is the only useful element of the whole product. The process to meliorate a perfect piece of jewelry is through intense fire. The higher quality my silver pendant, the more money the jeweler will siphon from my bank account. The saying, “You get what you pay for!” is true on so many levels. A silver pendant at a dime store may look nice the first few days, but eventually, the outside coating will wear off, exposing the pendant’s true nature… fake junk.
I wrote about the Refiner a year ago here: Refined Restoration. I love the analogy Solomon uses in this verse to describe the process by which God clears out our flaws. It hurts to realize we have issues. When the “Silversmith” exposes our imperfections, the process of cleaning out our hearts is without a doubt downright humiliating. Recently, a lady sat across the table from me stating how she could write novels about others who did such-and-such to her. But then, she stated that she never did such-and-such to anyone else. As I respectfully kept quiet, my mind was recalling several instances where she had done such-and-such to me! Do I only see the flaws of others and not of myself? Lord, burn me in that fire…
Ouch!!
But the second half of the verse gives us hope. Most of us wonder if we have purpose in life. His word says we were created with purpose. The problem with us humans… we are too fearful of pain, too full of pride, to allow Him to mold us into a creation of usefulness, a useful vessel. Because of the inherited sin nature, we are full of flaws, personality defects, and death. Are we letting God grow and mature us? When we allow God to run us through the “fire” to take away our dross (flaws), we cool into pure creatures full of God’s love.
Are we fake junk?
- Are we full of impatience, unkindness, envy, boastfulness, arrogance, and rudeness?
- Do we insist on our own way?
- Are we irritable or resentful of others?
- Do we hold grudges and cut people off for the littlest of offense and call it boundaries?
- Do we relish or laugh at bad behavior?
- Do we celebrate when truth is exposed… or do we not even seek truth?
Have we been purified by the Silversmith?
- Love.
- Love is patient in all things.
- Love is loyal.
- Love believes there is value in everyone.
- Love does not give up on people or on hope.
- Love prevails.
“Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.” ~1 Corinthians 13:4-7
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**Highlights in color are links for more information.
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Voice of Restoration 