This may seem like an odd way to begin a Christmas message, but it sets up yet another point that will give us a very good start into this blessed time of year. Though this mobster's girlfriend may not have realized it, giftedness and character are two entirely different things. As Dwight Moody and G. Morgan Campbell drove along the roads of Northfield, Moody asked his friend to define character. After he answered, Morgan asked Moody the same question, to which the famous evangelist replied, "Character is what man is in the dark." We can all put on airs of about anything—intelligence or whatever—but what is crucial is that our private thoughts actually line up with the public life. Whatever our giftedness, may it be excelled by a more excellent character—even the image of Jesus Christ!
Ever since Easter, our church has been looking at some of the names and symbolic figures that are used in the Scriptures to refer to the character of God—especially as He plants that character within His people. Right now, we come to a dual description—He is our Refiner and Purifier. At first glance, they seem to be referring to the same thing, but, they too, are two entirely different things. We find this rather graphically as the prophet Malachi closes out the Old Testament and readies our hearts for the coming of the Messiah's forerunner, John the Baptist, and the Messiah Himself, Jesus Christ—"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me…But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." (3:1-3)
Permit me to take you back in time to discover the source of this imagery. Leviticus 5:15 tells us, "If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering." This atonement would point to an even greateralways taking the time to make us holy. Patiently He sits at the crucible of your life and mine, removing all that is contrary to His holy mind and will.
atonement, and all of it is symbolized with silver. This precious metal, taken right out of the ground, had impurities all through it and would need to be refined. Using a crucible, or a fining pot, as the KJV calls it, the metal is heated and the dross comes to the surface. Such precious ores as silver require careful, delicate handling, hence the patient sitting posture of the refiner. Such is the image of Christ—never guilty of frantic frustration, but
The Book of Proverbs makes this correlation with amazing force. In Proverbs 17:3, we read, "The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts." The silver or gold smith may think he has a valuable raw material, but God is working on the human heart—even more than priceless! Proverbs 27:21 takes it a step further—"As the refining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise." The praise we receive from others, no matter how much we think we deserve it, is a divine test to see how we will react to it—either in pride or humility. An attitude of pride shows just how self-deceived we really are, for in and of ourselves, we are nothing. Even Jesus made that clear—"…for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5) Everything we think, do, or say must come from our commitment to God and His glory, and not our own. When we pass this test of praise, it reveals that we are living to please God—and why wouldn't it? The true Spirit-filled Christian actually lives the life of Jesus—empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Christ in us—the hope of glory! (Col. 1:27)
But He is not only the Refiner; He is also the Purifier. Remember—this is a dual process! The silversmith can not just stop when the dross reaches the surface. This is the perfect time for those impurities to be removed. Now the refiner becomes the purifier—using a small ladle, the patient artisan skims the surface of the molten silver. Very carefully and intently, he presses his tool just deep enough to gather the dross and not the precious silver. If he goes too deep, valuable metal is lost; if he doesn’t go deep enough, impurities are left to decrease the worth of the silver. Our God is such a Purifier. He knows exactly what is needed in each heart and life to get the desired results. How does the silversmith know when his silver is thoroughly refined and purified? When he can see the reflection of his own face in the molten metal. Is this not the same for our Lord—refining and purifying; removing not only the sin, but the sway and bondage sin can have over our lives—and all to one goal, namely that He can see His own image in His own people. Thank God for the crucible of life!
And how is that accomplished? Romans 8:28-29 tells us, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." Praise God—read the rest of the chapter to find out how refined and purified He wants to make those who love Him and know they have been truly called to be His own. Praise God—that calling is manifested in Christmas! Do you remember what the Lord told Malachi?—that He would begin that refining and purifying with the spiritual leadership! In Luke 1, we find Zacharias, an elderly priest, and his wife Elisabeth, both descendants of Aaron, in the Christmas Crucible—then the heat is turned up. The child they had longed for—who would be John the Baptist—was about to arrive, BUT Zacharias didn't believe it. Nine months of silence would test his mettle, so to speak, and Praise God—the impurities surfaced, God scooped them up, and out came the most purified praise ever heard—"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people…to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (vss. 68,79) Well, was Dwight Moody right? Yes, character is what man is in the darkness—even the darkness of silence!
The Christmas story is chock full of such refining and purifying. When Mary was told of her upcoming pregnancy, she praised God—"My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." (vss. 46 and 47) She did not pat herself on the back, and say, "Of course God chose me, for I am without sin." Many today hold to that very impure assessment—about Mary, and about themselves. But Mary didn't—she knew her own deceitfully dark heart, and she knew who could save her. When Joseph first found out about the coming child, his first thought was divorce—albeit out of love and concern for his Mary, and not out of frustration or even hatred. But the Christmas Crucible had its way with him, too. From that burning moment on, he would do whatever the Lord called him to do.
Please listen to me! We may think that we get too busy in this time of year—and we certainly do—but the Christmas Crucible is busier still. The Lord is always at work, seeking to burn out the pride and make us humble and pliable in His loving hands. This Christmas, come away from your own "giftedness", and let the greatest Gift ever given have His way with you—"forGIVEness!" Darkness or Light—it's your choice! The mobster's girlfriend saw it in Joe Pistone; will you see it in Jesus? He is far more than a thief—He will not steal your heart, as some people put it nowadays; No, it must be GIVEN…into the crucible!
