"I will bring this third part through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like
gold!" Zechariah 13:9
I gather from this verse, that though
the days are ever so evil, God will always have His chosen ones. There
always is the third part--there always are the few in Sardis, who
walk with Christ in white. I trust that I belong to the little
flock.
I learn also that, though the members of His Church are
insignificant in this evil world--they are very precious to Jesus. He
compares them not to dull lead--but to silver and gold. He has Himself clothed
them with their attractiveness. My Lord, I draw my silvery sheen and golden
brightness from You alone.
But I see that, as beloved as His people are,
it is His purpose to refine them. The jeweler uses every method to
beautify the metals which he prizes most. If the citizens of this world escape
the sharpness of God's discipline--the citizens of the heavenly Kingdom cannot.
He chastens me, because He loves me!
And I find, too, that
the sorrow may be very severe. He brings His children through the
fire--the quivering and scorching fire! "I have refined you in the
furnace of suffering!" Isaiah 48:10
"For the moment all discipline seems
painful rather than pleasant, but afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit
of righteousness to those who have been trained by it!" Hebrews 12:11. Oh that
blessed Afterward! The fire purifies the dross from me; it kindles my
hidden graces to life!
~Alexander Smellie
No comments:
Post a Comment