Sanctified Through Fire

Reflection

I’m not much of a jewelry person. I only wore a few pieces when I was younger, but I can still appreciate the beauty of a polished gold necklace. Gold comes in different colors and karats, but pure gold stands apart. It’s brighter, warmer, and richer in tone. The process of getting pure gold, though, isn’t easy. It’s refined through fire, burning off all the impurities to reveal the true product.

I can see the connection to our lives. For a long time, I thought I was better than I really was. I convinced myself that I was invincible to sin, that I had everything under control. But I was blind to the impurities that were inside. Like Job says, "He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold." God knows us completely, and He understands exactly what needs to be refined in us.

It reminds me of when you take a bath and, when you get out, you look at the water and realize just how dirty you really were. If the water wasn’t a clue, the ring around the tub certainly is. It’s humbling to see the dirt that was there all along. Even though Jesus has made us righteous and clean before God, we are always in the process of being sanctified. Sometimes that process is uncomfortable, and it hurts, but it’s how God makes us more like Him. We’re constantly being shaped and refined, and though the fire is hard, it’s necessary.