DAY 29 - PURIFYING FIRE

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 

(I John 1: 8-9)

I was recently reading about the role fire plays in art. From glass, pottery, fine metals and steel, fire is used in the molding and refining process. Gold is purified in only one way: with fire. Not an outward brush with fire, but from being plunged into the heart of the fire — the place where fire is harshest and turns blue — and it is kept there until that which is being purified loses any resemblance to what it once was. Having been purified, the gold can be molded according to the will of the goldsmith. It only loses its contact with the fire when the final shape has been formed.

When we, as believers, confess our sin, our imperfect works, to God, He not only promises to be faithful and to forgive us; He promises to engage us in the painful process of purification in order to cleanse us from the sin that is tearing us apart. God knows our weaknesses, our innermost thoughts that we withhold from the rest of the world.  He knows our words before we even speak them, yet often in our superiority, we think we hide them not only from others but from God. We are often guilty of pursuing perfection rather than purification. Perfection comes in our human desire to reign superior. Purification comes in surrender of our humanness to God.

Fire can be incredibly destructive, but it can also strip away impurities. Today, as we go through our daily routine, may we be well aware of the imperfection in our work, our words, and our thoughts, and surrender them to the purifying fire of God – all the while knowing that we strive to continue to work as holy and godly people hoping for the day when the labors of our hands will be cleansed from all sin.

IronMaker’s Daily Challenge:  Ask God to begin the purification process in the area you began to surrender to His will on Day 24.

Prayer:  Most gracious God, I confess that my work bears the stain, the imperfection of my sin. I give these imperfections to you, ask you to purify my works and look to the day when all my imperfections will be destroyed and I live in full fellowship with you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.