Refiner's Fire

 오늘의 말씀

 

말라기 3:2-4 (쉬운성경, NASB)

 

2. 그러나 그가 오시는 날에는 아무도 견디지 못하며 그가 나타나실 때에 아무도 살아 남지 못한다. 그는 연단하는 불과 같을 것이며 깨끗하게 하는 비누와 같을 것이다. 

"But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 

 

 

3. 그는 은을 달구어 연단하는 사람과 같을 것이다. 그는 레위 사람들을 연단하여 금과 은처럼 만들 것이다. 그러면 그들이 여호와께 올바른 제물을 가져올 것이다. 

"He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness. 

 

4. 그 때에 여호와께서 옛날처럼 유다와 예루살렘의 제물을 받으실 것이다. 

 "Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing th the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.   

 

 

FIRE IS A FREQUENT SYMBOL in Scripture, flickering with depth and significance. It is used to shed light on the character of God and the condition of His people. Fire can indicate ideas as diverse as presence, power, purity, punishment, or persecution. Yet there is one thing that fire will not and cannot represent: mediocrity. Fire always typifies brilliant intensity. In Malachi's prophetic vision of the Lord's arrival, the prophet sees God revealed as a refiner's fire. This imagery is at once unsettling and hopeful, as it points to the process of our purification. It is unsettling because it indicates that our journey toward sanctification will be an intense ordeal characterized by submission and surrender. We must pass through the fire, and that cannot be an easy thing to do. This image is also hopeful because we are promised that the fire will not consume us. Instead, it will forge and form our faith until we emerge on the other side as gold refined. As the Lord walks us through the flames, the impurities are burned away. Having been through the fire, our faith will shine all that much brighter. The Refiner has one goal: to shape us into His own likeness. once we commit ourselves to Him, He will rest at nothing less. Have you been through the refiner's fire?

 

Matt LeRoy

 

Decide today to submit yourself to the process of spiritual formation.

 

 

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* mediocrity[mìːdiɑ́krəti] : 평범, the quality of being average or not very good