Refining
Mal. 3:1-4; Lk. 1:68-79[1]
Although we are surrounded by the
refining industry, I don’t really know that much about it. I know that it
involves a great deal of heat and sometimes pressure. I have, however, seen the process of
glass-blowing. I think there are some similarities. The glass is super-heated to remove any
impurities and to make it moldable, just
like the refining of precious metals like gold and silver. As other elements are added to gold to make
it stronger, the process of glass-blowing actually adds elements not originally
present for various reasons—especially to create colors. The whole purpose is to make the end result a
thing of beauty. When I witnessed the
process of glass-blowing, I was sitting at a safe distance from the furnace in
some bleachers. But even at that
distance, I found the intense heat of the furnace somewhat disconcerting. I couldn’t imagine actually being the
glass-blower and constantly working so close to such intense heat. And I certainly wouldn’t want to be the glass
in the furnace!
That’s the image the Bible uses
for the process God uses in each of our lives.
It’s called judgment, but I think that doesn’t really express the true
intent of what God intends to do with us.
As our lesson from Malachi puts it, the image of refining comes much
closer to reflecting what that’s about (Mal. 3:2). The purpose is to remove any impurities that
might weaken or disfigure what is being refined. And the purpose is also to instill qualities
that enhance the beauty of what is being refined. I think that’s what God’s “judgment” is
really about—refining us to remove whatever keeps us from being all that we
were meant to be, and instilling qualities that shape us into the image of
Christ.
One of the most important of those
qualities is peace. According to
Zechariah’s song, John the Baptist’s mission was to prepare a people for the
Lord to come. His “preparation” for them
was to lead them into the “way of peace” (Lk. 1:79). And he was to do that by calling them to
repentance. Not just feeling sad or
sorry for the fact that they may have said something they would later regret,
but rather real, heartfelt, life-changing repentance.[2] And he made it specific: those who had more
than enough were to share with those who didn’t have enough. And those who had power were not to abuse it.[3] He was talking about the kind of change that
is like purifying precious metals, or refining glass.
The “way of peace” is not an easy
path. It is a hard road that takes
humility, the will to change, and the strength to persevere. For there to be peace in any relationship,
both parties have to humble themselves enough to acknowledge their contribution
to the conflict. Peace starts by our
being willing to look at ourselves—to take a good hard long look at ourselves: our
self-indulgence, our need to control others, and our aggressive behaviors
toward others that really amounts to a kind of violence. But the “way of peace” goes further than just
recognizing our shortcomings; it also takes us to the point of being willing to
do something about them. We have to
choose, in so far as it is humanly possible, to change and to return to the way
of peace. And then, in order to preserve
peace, we have to put forth the effort—sometimes time and time again—to
maintain peace. The “way of peace” is
not an easy road!
That’s why we need refining. In a very real sense, what the Scriptures hold
out to us as the ideal for how we are to live our lives simply doesn’t come
naturally. We have to have our bad
habits purged— our selfish ways, our reluctance to humble ourselves enough to
actually put peace into practice. And we
have to have new qualities instilled in us—qualities like the fruit of the
Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal.
5:22-23). Qualities that look like the
character of Christ formed in us. Then
perhaps we can actually become the “peace-makers” God intends for us to be as as
his sons and daughters.
Much of what the Bible has to say about a future return of
Christ includes an aspect of judgment, of setting things right, of refining us.
Some of these images can be frightening, just as I was a bit frightened from
the intense heat of the glass-blower’s furnace.
But the glass-blower wasn’t afraid.
He was calmly, patiently shaping the glass into a beautiful work of
art. In the same way, so God calmly and
patiently watches over us, working with us carefully to make us into a
beautiful work of art. It seems to me that we have nothing to fear from the
refining process that kind of God has in store for us. [4] To some extent, we can see that the trials
and tribulations of this life are already a part of that process, because the
challenges that come our way refine us by removing what weakens us and
instilling new qualities. On the final
day, when we all stand before our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, he will
finish the task of refining us, removing our impurities and enhancing the
beauty God created in each one of us. I
don’t think that’s something to fear, but rather something to welcome—being set
free from all that keeps us from being the person God intended for us to be,
and being transformed into the image of Christ. [5]
[1] © 2012
Alan Brehm. A sermon preached by Rev.
Dr. Alan Brehm on 12/9/2012.
[2] Cf. R.
Alan Culpepper, “The Gospel of Luke,” New
Interpreters Bible IX:86. He says, “There
is an integrity to the repentant. … Their way of life, their priorities,
commitments, personal relationships, passion for peace and justice, and their
unplanned acts of compassion all give evidence to their repentance.”
[3] Cf. Fred
B. Craddock, Luke, 48, where he
points out that the specifics of John’s demands relate to the “injustices and
inequities” of that society. Cf. Eileen
M. Schuller, O. S. U., “The Book of Malachi,” New Interpreters Bible VII:868, where she points out that Mal. 3:5
puts the refining the prophet speaks of in a similar context.
[4] Cf.
Elizabeth Achtemeier, Nahum-Malachi,
187, where she refers to Charles Spurgeon’s famous sermon “The Sitting of the
Refiner” emphasizing this point. She
says, “such is the love of this God.”
[5] Cf. Alan
Robinson, “God the Refiner of Silver,” Catholic
Biblical Quarterly 11 (1949): 11, where he says, “God will know that His
work has been completed when he sees reflected in the Christian soul His own
image”; cf. also Karl Barth, Dogmatics
4.4:56: He adds, “ it is not for nothing that Lk. 3:6 adds the end of the
verse: kai opsesthai pasa sarx to
soterion tou theou (and all flesh shall see the salvation of God).”
