13. Refined gold…
You say, “I am rich, I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Revelation 3:17-18
The church at Laodicea, to whom these words are addressed, thought they had it all together – plenty of money, comfortable, sitting back and enjoying the sun. How often I have yearned to be in this place – comfortable, relaxed, watching life go by, all my needs met, living the good life. But, hey, look at how God describes people like this – wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, naked.
According to God there are just three things we need, and they all come from him. We’ll look at the first “purchase” today and the other 2 in the next posts:
- Gold refined in the fire…
When Torvill and Dean went to the Sarajevo Olympics they could have been satisfied with silver or bronze, or just the chance to be there. But, no, they were there for gold. Ask any Olympian and they will tell you they are not there for the ride but to win and bring home gold. An entrant in MasterChef is there to walk away with the title. We are built to go for the very best – this is how God has made us – to strive for the purest, refined gold.
In recent visits to India and other parts of Asia I have noticed the abundance of gold shops. So much beautiful, shiny, gold just crying out, “buy me, buy me”. Yet how do I know that what I am buying is pure gold? How do I discern between a low-grade alloy and the real McCoy There are things to look for such as transparency, resistance to corrosion, pliability. But, at the end of the day, I need to trust the salespeople, the reputation of the store, to sell me gold that has been graded by the international gold karat system and is what it says it is.
So how do I know that what I am buying into is a 24 karat (99.9% pure) life? I have to trust God to “sell” me the pure life he intends me to live. Where do I look for the God gold-grading system? His Word, the Bible is all I need to show me what a true, pure, 24 karat life looks like.
Am I, are you, prepared to settle for a 9 karat, alloy life? A life that is guided by some bits of God’s Word and lots of the world’s ways mixed in? A pick and mix life?
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
God is saying:
Go for the best, never settle what is just okay. Never settle for the mundane and ordinary but strive for pure refined gold in your life. Seek to be the very best that you can be.
Prayer: Lord, just as Torvill and Dean understood that they needed to strive, to be refined to perfection, in order to take gold at Sarajevo so I know I need to be refined. I know it will not be easy, there will be pain, but, Lord, I ask that you refine me so that I become more like you each day.
Amen.
Action: Today, decide to live as refined gold, pure and high grade. Seek God for those areas in your life that need refining through confession. Receive the forgiveness and cleansing that will bring refinement.
Journal your thoughts: