straining out the muck...

i've always been told and read about suffering and trials "refining" us....and i get it. and subscribe to that. refining like a fire..

but this week after some reading and studying, there is a different word that keeps getting my attention and helps me to further understand that verse in 1 Peter...and it means pretty much the same thing.

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:6-7

my study bible reads that these trials and sufferings are God's will for his people, so that their faith might be PURIFIED...

in this day and age, we hear that word all the time...pure and natural, pure- clear of added preservatives or dyes, purity of a diamond, pure and clean water, fresh and pure foods that we want to put into our body. it means the junk has been removed, hopefully, and it's safe. clean. pure. in it's most desirable and simple state.

think of how we sift through muck and junk to get the pure gem of a rock in a riverbed...sifting through silt and dirt in our hand-like strainers, rinsing clean to the desired product.

i may not enjoy the refining process, but i do long for it. i may not love the way my faith is proven genuine in trials but i do long for authenticity.

yet, when asked if i want purity or clouded muck of anything, i would always choose pure. right? i mean, who wants the added stuff that doesn't belong there? that distracts or causes any UNenjoyment and productiveness of the desired gem? that confuses or clutters or rots or breaks down over time?

if we can see that our faith is being made PURE, filtering and straining out the muck, that does not fit for someone longing to be conformed to the image of God, things that are distracting or wearing down, dangerously corrosive and debilitating and not beneficial...wouldn't we chose pure? no matter the cost or price? wouldn't we want the cleanest, most simple, pure version of us to be brought out so that we may that we may "rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls...."

to be like Him in glory one day, remembering our imperishable inheritance purely and clearly, without any muck in the way.....the muck of self-reliance and selfishness, the pride and the unbelief...

this journey to heaven's home, seems hard. many days, seems so very hard and weary. so many try to be "perfect"...we will never be perfect, perfected...not till Glory. but we can try to pursue a heart for a PURE faith and be willing to take whatever storms and trials come, as a straining filtering glorious mesh...that sifts out what the heart and flesh reveal and work out our faith, through fear and trembling, to bring about a more genuine purified faith....one that WILL sustain us in the walk to glory.