Refining Fire

Refining Fire

The prophet Malachi spoke of Jesus when he said:

The Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming. . . . He will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. (Malachi 3:1-3)

What does it mean that Jesus will “sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross”? In ancient times, a workman would take a piece of ore hewn from the earth, crush it into pieces, and place it in a piece of pottery that he would then thrust into a fire. The refiner carefully tended the fire, knowing just how intense the flame needed to be to soften the ore and cause the impurities to rise to the top so they could be skimmed off, leaving a bubbling treasure of molten metal. The refiner was patient, knowing just how long the metal should stay in the fire so that more and more dull impurities would rise to the surface. Finally, he would look into the liquid silver and see what he had been working for and waiting for—his own reflection.

Jesus came into this world and into our lives like a refiner’s fire. Of course, we have good reason to fear fire. Fires destroy and consume. But a refiner’s fire is different. A refiner’s fire purifies. When the fires of affliction burn in our lives, our Refiner is at work burning away the impurities of our pride and apathy and unbelief. He is removing what is unfit and impure, transforming the ordinary ore of our lives into a shining treasure that reflects his image.

The day will come when we’ll be glad we allowed the Refiner to do his work in us. “These trials will show that your faith is genuine,” Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:7. “It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

Blazing Fire, how foolishly I resist the fire of your refinement. I forget that you know exactly how intense the flame needs to be and how long I need to stay in the fire. Plunge me into the fire if you must, to make me reflect your image.