When we ponder the Scriptures prayerfully we no longer feel alone. We have the unshakeable certainty that someone is seeking us and someone is standing by our side, and we are given new strength and encouragement through the presence of the Risen Lord.
Paul writes to us “Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We, with unveiled faces, reflect like mirrors the brightness of the Lord. All glow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is spirit.” (2 Cor 3: 17 – 18)
Note: “We reflect the brightness of the Lord. We are turned into the image of the Lord.” Can this really be true? Think about it!
The following verse puzzled some women in a Bible Study group.
“He/God will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” (Mal 3: 3)
They wondered what this statement could mean.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining sliver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, she called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She did not mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining sliver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining sliver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire, where the flames were hottest, so as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refines. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”
He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
Paul assures us: “You are our letter, a letter of Christ, written by the Spirit of the living God on your hearts. God has indeed appointed us as ministers of a new covenant. (2 Cor 3: 2 – 6) All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image. (2 Cor 3: 18)
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, .. teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. I am with you always.” (Mt 28: 19 – 20)