The Bible is clear: Having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ will clean our minds and hearts. The prophet Malachi says we will be cleansed like one using a refiner’s fire or a fuller’s soap.
A fuller washed newly woven cloth to clean out its natural oils and any impurities. Oils and impurities could shorten the life of the cloth, or contaminate items the cloth might touch.
The symbolism of a fuller’s cleaning was used metaphorically during those times to speak of those cleansed of evil. Jesus washes you clean when you accept him as your Savior. He washes out your spiritual impurities so you can live a longer, spiritually healthier life, and so you can be a good example for others to follow.
Malachi also used the metaphor of a refiner’s fire. A refinery was used to melt metals, so impurities could be screened out, leaving pure metal. Through this process, not only was the metal purified, it was also strengthened. Jesus purifies and strengthens a person’s life. Like the refiner’s fire, he removes imperfections and provides strength for living in God’s ways.
One day, a woman wanted to know what that passage was about, so she watched a silversmith work. The silversmith held a piece of silver in the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire, where the flames were hottest. He said 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, 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 and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.”
Amid challenges, remember that God is there, keeping an eye on you, never allowing you to stay in the fire too long. He wants to clean you, to rid you of your impurities, and refine you until he can see his own image in you.
This happens when you allow Jesus into your heart. Whatever moral impurities there may be, whatever emotional inadequacies may be felt, whatever self-imposed dirt or filth may be in your life, they are washed away by Jesus.
Imperfections are burned away, and you become strong enough to face life’s challenges and hardships, and celebrate life’s joys.
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BROADHEAD: Grace is like a refiner’s fire