The malleability of gold presents a problem with jewelry. Pure gold is too soft to withstand the demands of life. For this reason, gold is usually alloyed with other precious metals like copper, silver, and platinum to increase its durability.

– U. S. Gold Bureau

Our world is a world of pragmatism. Courses of action are many times chosen based on the practical consequences of a particular choice. Gold, as explained in the quote above, must be alloyed if it is to be of use. In other words, its usefulness is dependent on its purity being compromised.

Now we know that God operates in a different manner. We aren’t even able to comprehend His ways. Scripture tells us:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8, 9

And so it is that when God compares His people to gold, he speaks of purity as the characteristic which will bring them to usefulness.

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.

Malachi 3:3

The point which I hope is made is that we might be well-served if we were to measure the progress of God’s purifying work in our hearts by the degree to which our tenderness is increased.

Do tears sometimes flow when a sermon is preached?

Are we ever overcome with emotion when we hear a testimony of God’s faithfulness?

Do we at times find ourselves reduced to sobbing when reflecting on the sin in our lives?

I pray that the Lord would continue His work in you, and that with each passing day you would experience a more contrite heart and an increasingly broken spirit.

– Larry