Purity.

"The Lord doesn't take us into deep water to drown us, but to develop us."

-Irv Heedstrom

"I believe in getting into hot water. I think it keeps you clean."

-G. K. Chesterton

"Troubles are often tools by which God fashions us for better things."

-Henry W. Beecher

"Jesus spoke more about trouble and crosses and persecution than He did about human happiness."

-W. T. Purkiser

"Remove the dross from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.

-Proverbs 25:4 NLT

"Take away the dross from silver, and it will go to the silversmith for jewelry."

-Proverbs 25:4 NKJV

Before we look at this Proverb it is important to know the definition of dross. The dictionary defines dross as, "something regarded as worthless, rubbish: foreign matter, dregs, mineral waste, in particular scum formed on the surface of molten metal." Dross, therefore is a scum composed of worthless rubbish and is an important part of the refining process.

"Remove the dross from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith."

As I understand it, when gold and silver are refined, both materials are fired to an exceedingly high temperature until they become a red-hot, molten, liquid form of metal. Some time during the heating process the dross (worthless rubbish) comes to the surface and is skimmed away. The refiner is then left with a pure metal with which he can create beautiful items of very high value.

Even steel, which is not as beautiful to look at, is refined by the same process to produce a material of high structural strength and integrity. Steel is that almost always unseen structural material making possible the towering skyscrapers in the big cities of the world. The beauty of steel is not in what you see but what it does. Steel is strong because its impurities have been removed by the incredible temperatures of the refining process.

Likewise, God refines his children to produce followers of high value and great strength. The secret, of course, is to remove all the dirt, crud, mud, and any other worthless rubbish that would make us impure, dirty, and weak.

But . . . before we can be refined, the heat must be turned up . . . way up. The apostle Peter said, "Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you" (4:12). According to this verse:

"Don't be surprised . . . " It should not be a shock.

" . . . at the fiery trials . . . " The fire will come. That verse does not say, "Don't be surprised if the fiery trials . . . " Get ready.

" . . . you are going through, . . . " God's plan is not to take us around, over, under, or above the fiery trials but straight through!

" . . . as if something strange were happening to you." Did you ever notice how we react when a fellow Christian goes through a fiery trial? Like Job's buddies the topic of our conversations will often center around the sin that must be causing this trial. Maybe sin is not the issue, perhaps it's just time for refining. I've often said, "Be careful if you ever ask God for patience. You'll end up teaching sixth grade boys!" That, my friend, is a refining process! It's not sin to teach those guys but it will make you a sharper, stronger teacher. It's not strange for God's children to be in fiery trials. In fact, the higher and hotter the flame, the cleaner and stronger the results.

So whether we are being refined to become a beautiful object of sparkling beauty or a strong object if hidden strength, the fire will come, the worthless rubbish will be burned away, and we will be turned over to the Master Craftsman to be formed into the selected object of his design.

By the way . . . the metal in the car above was not being refined for further use but the owner surely was! Are we ready to be refined?

Turn up the heat!