The fire is hot...

Refiner's Fire

Where there is sin...inevitably there is a dross. Where there is dross...there must be a fire to draw it out. Where there is fire...there is pain. But where there is pain...there is removal of the waste...restoration with the Father...and intimacy with the Savior.

With the sparks still smoldering and the smell of smoke still lingering, my heart is reeling from this last fire. It was painful. My pride is still smarting from the knee-jerking wound. But through it all there was dross that was getting in the way of the finished product. There was sin lurking in the darkest parts of my heart - sin that too often gets overlooked. Sin that only a fire can remove.

Thankfully, it is a refiner's fire. One that does not destroy, consume, or demolish No, it is a fire that has a purpose and a plan. It is purging in its essence. It softens, divides the impurities, and burns up the unwanted matter. And finally, it leaves the gold - intact - cleaner, purer, and brighter than when it started.

Purity is hard to come by in this body of flesh. And it comes at a very high price. But purity is my ultimate desire...to be set apart...ready for the Master's use. Thus, I see many a fire in my future. I pray though...that after the fire...He will see gold.