Refinement?

Are you being refined? Do you even know what that means? When we talk about refinement we think about getting rid of all the impurities, making something pure. But did you ever think of the process? When gold is being refined it looks melted! It looks hot and liquid-y. It looks moldable. In the same way, while we're being refined by God, He's getting rid of all the impurities, all the stuff that should not be there. On top of that you become moldable by Him. He's making you more into the image of His Son. He is making your heart more like Jesus' heart. The refining process may not be fun or pleasurable at the moment but the outcome is far more beautiful than you could have ever imagined. It's Agape love -- loving expecting nothing in return. Even more, loving with the possibility of receiving negativity in return! It's laying down your life for someone, unconditionally. Jesus knew that He would go to the cross. Yet, He found it worth it knowing that people would be saved through it. The process is painful but the end result is beautiful. Have faith in letting Him refine you to be the person He created you to be. 

Some verses:
"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." -Isaiah 53:10-12

Jesus suffered for us. He found it worth it because the end result was beautiful.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." -John 15:13

Greater love has no one than JESUS! None other than GOD! 

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." -Matthew 5:43-48

This does not come naturally. Loving your enemies does not come naturally. You need God. You need refinement. 

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." -1 John 3:16 

We need to be refined to be like Jesus, to love as He loved. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." -John 3:16

"Real gold fears no fire." - a quote from the book Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. If you're one of His kids, if you believe in Him, you are GOLD!! You will not perish. You will enter His kingdom. And part of being His children means being refined! You will be more refined to be like Him! It hurts but ultimately you will not perish! Gold does not tarnish. Gold is anticorrosive. 

Juan and I visited a gold mine... very timely.