The Master's Reflection

1 Peter 1:7 “Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of His victory.” (The Message)

What do you think it is that God wants to see in His people? In His Church? In you and me? He wants to see His reflection. So many times, we are so quick to have God remove the fiery trial, take us out of our problems- but we must realize that it is in our “problems” that God will reveal Himself to us and to those around us.

John, the Beloved was banished to the isle of Patmos. Patmos was a volcanic island.  He was banished here because of His testimony of Christ.  He lived in a cave and was a slave- lived for 18 months there and in the midst of his fiery trial he received the greatest revelation of Jesus Christ which was written down and given to the Church.  The list could go on and on of those who have suffered unfairly, but in spite of and because of their trials- were not delivered out of the trial but received a revelation of God in that trial.  God did not remove the problem but made the problem a vehicle in which He could reveal Himself.

God wants to reveal Himself to the Church.  When gold and other precious metals are melted down, the fire must reach a certain temperature.  Then the craftsman skims off the dross.  In days gone by, the Master Craftsman would come and peek over the top of the kettle to see if he could see his reflection in the liquid. If not, he would heat the fire up even more. I can see Him coming up to me and saying, “I can’t see Myself yet.  I still see Donna.  There’s still a lot of self left.  I will have to turn up the heat a little more until I don’t see Donna anymore.  I need to see a reflection of Myself.”

He doesn’t do this to be mean.  He does it to those who are hungry and thirsty for a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ.  He does it to those who are willing to go through the crucible of life’s testings and trials.  Yes, we may whine and complain, but all the while- He- the Master Craftsman- is working "us" out of us and pouring Himself into us.  He wants to see His reflection.

Malachi 3:2-3 tells us that God is the Master Refiner.  The refiner had to have expert knowledge in the tools and the process- too much heat would ruin the product and too little heat would not be effective.  Things has to be just right.  God is our Master Refiner.  He knows just what we need to bring about His reflection in us. God knows what He is doing in our lives and we simply need to trust Him and the process.  

Don’t be so quick to jump out of every trial that comes your way.  It may just be the process that God desires to take place to bring about that transformation that you have been crying for.  Look for the Lord’s hand in what comes your way. If we have totally submitted our lives to Him, we must believe that He won’t allow anything to come to us that He has not first given permission.  The true Christian life is not one of walking through the flower beds and seeing beautiful sunsets every day.  Sometimes He allows troubles to come our way in order to transform us into His image.  We are not exempt from suffering, from trials and problems.  They come to make us strong and most importantly- so that God can see His reflection in us- and we then become His reflection to the world around us.

1 Peter 4:12-13

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test you (that is, to test the quality of your faith), as though something strange or unusual were happening to you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, keep on rejoicing, so that when His glory (filled with His radiance and splendor) is revealed, you may rejoice with great joy.”  (Amplified)