I used to work for a jeweler and one of my
favorite things was to watch through the glass as the jeweler pounded and
twisted the metal into shape. If it wasn’t pliable enough, he would heat it
until it shined a burning hot, glowing mass of gold or silver. When he was
finally done with his masterpiece – after twisting, turning, pounding, shaping,
more heating - he would place a jewel
among carefully crafted prongs.
In order for his masterpiece to be successful, the
jeweler must work with metals that have been rid of all the dross – what is
left after burning all the impurities out of it.
Isn’t it ironic how when sin is in its unrefined
state, safely tucked in our humanity, it looks like fun? Sometimes our dross
resembles sexual sin, adultery, rage, alcoholism, or addiction. Maybe yours is anger,
lying, or expressing feelings without guarding our tongue. Mine looks like fear
of failure, fear of abandonment, and a host of random insecurities.
The only way to get rid of it is to have it
refined out of us. Our Great Refiner takes us though seasons of purifying –
heating up areas in our life that are useless to Him. I always pictured Him
scooping the murky scum with a big ladle and discarding it in a heaven-sized
trash bin deeming it useless, ugly, and unclean.
That is how my dross looks to me.
Proverbs 25:4 says, “Take away the dross from silver, and it will go to the silversmith
for jewelry.”
What a great promise! Our Refiner doesn’t just
use what is Ieft after a season of
refining. He takes the waste from our souls, and gives it to the Silversmith (I
picture this as the Holy Spirit with a big rubber apron) and He makes jewelry
from it!
How is THAT for recycling!
He takes the ugliest parts of us – parts that we
are ashamed of, parts that scare us, parts that make us cringe – and He makes
jewelry from them! Only our Refiner can create this kind of miracle! Only our
Master Silversmith can make something beautiful out of rubbish!
Be encouraged! Seasons of painful refining create
something beautiful from that waste. He will mold, twist, and shape your dross
and place a jewel in it to create a new treasure.
“They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them
My jewels.” Malachi
3:17
