Fire is used to make gold and silver pure, but a person’s heart is made pure by the LORD.

Our verse for today makes use of an image. Just as fire refines gold and silver, so likewise the Lord refines the heart or soul of an individual person.

In ancient times gold or silver would be placed into a crucible that was then hung over an open fire. The fire would heat up the crucible, melt the metal, and force any impurities in the metal to rise to the surface. The refiner would then skim the impurities off the surface of the molten metal. In this way the gold or silver would be purified and would become, as a result, more valuable.

In like manner, the Lord makes our hearts pure. Although a person receives the Holy Spirit upon accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and everything becomes new (2 Corinthians 5:17), the old sinful nature still remains a factor in the life of that person (Galatians 5:17). Hence, sins like pride, impatience, selfishness, self-will, and envy can sometimes cause trouble and heartache.

The Lord, however, does not simply allow this sorry state of affairs to continue unabated. Since He is a master refiner, He makes use of the tools of His trade in order to remove the impurities within us. He places us in His crucible of difficult situations and He stokes up His fire of testing. As the author of Hebrews puts it, “The Lord disciplines everyone He loves; he punishes everyone he accepts as a child,” (Hebrews 12:6).

The Lord’s crucible causes the impurities that lie deep within us to rise to the surface where they can be dealt with through repentance and prayer. Sometimes the impurities are so deep that a person does not even realize they are there. Peter, for example, mistakenly thought he could stand with Jesus in the time of trial. When he was actually placed in the crucible, however, his pride and cowardice were revealed for what they were (Luke 22:54-62). It was only then that he could deal with them.

Although the refining process is difficult, the good news is that we come forth from it, as James put it, “mature and complete,” (James 1:2-4).

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International