Refining

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; Malachi 3:2

Paul wrote: You wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:7–8

REFLECTION:
The word "purgatory" is nowhere in the Bible. Purgatory is a concept developed in the Roman Catholic tradition, that speaks of a place in which all of our impurities are purged from us before we are pure enough to enter heaven.

While the Bible doesn't speak of a place we go after death but before heaven called "purgatory," it does speak about what it looks like when impurities are burned away.

The prophet Malachi explains that this process is like when one uses fire to refine precious metals. The metals survive the fire, but the impurities don't. The end result is a more pure precious metal.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the same thing without the language of a fire. The promise that God will strengthen us in order that we may be "blameless," however, reminds me that often it is painful.

I don't know about those of you reading, but this description feels accurate when I think about my daily life. It is painful when character defects are revealed in interactions with others. It is painful to acknowledge my brokenness. It is painful to humbly ask God to heal those wounds; to remove those defects of character.

It is painful...but ultimately freeing. The closer I am drawn to God in worship, Scripture, and prayer...the more I see revealed the ways I am not yet what God created me to be. The fire of God's love burns from the empty cross and is like a refiner's fire...purging impurities in order to let Christ's love shine through unimpeded.

Of course, this will never be complete until the day I stand before Christ on the banks of the river in heaven; but for now, I will pray for strength for the fire...and trust that whatever is revealed as pure comes as a gift from the one who created me.

May you have strength for the fire today; and the assurance that you are never alone.

PRAYER:
Loving God, with out-stretched arms you call us to you. We come to you imperfect, but knowing that your grace is life giving will make us whole. Healed, we say Amen.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts