IT DEPENDS ON WHO HE IS TO YOU
But who can endure the day of his coming? He will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. Malachi 3:2
‘Refiner’s fire and launderer’s soap’ is a line right out of Handel’s Messiah. It’s not exactly poetic to put to music and yet, how magnificently George Frederick Handel did it. With Christmas coming, you’ll probably hear these words again if you listen to the entire Messiah.
Refining fires will be experienced by everyone. Now, it’s the saints who are being purified through suffering. When others behold the lives we live, they see Jesus. Without the fire, the image is never developed. But one day, the unsaved will also face the fire of His holiness. While, presently, we are drawn to the One who is holy, they will stand in dread of Him on judgement day. Same God ~ two opposing reactions because of the relationship or the lack thereof.
If you are God’s child, the thought of standing in the vicinity of the glory of God is thrilling. If you want nothing to do with God, you are either nonchalant as you think about it or simply terrified. It depends on who He is to you, Savior or enemy.
If you are God’s child, you are thrilled by what happened on the mount of transfiguration. The thought of Jesus taking on His full glory, dressed in dazzling white, makes you long to have seen it for yourself. If you don’t care about Jesus, the mere idea is bizarre and repelling. It depends on who He is to you, Lord of glory or good teacher.
If you are God’s child, you long to be holy. You long for God’s glory to purify the earth and wash away all remnants of the Fall. If you don’t care about Jesus, you are content in Babylon and see no need for change. It depends on who He is to you, Righteous Restorer of paradise, or a characterization of a religious myth.
Malachi’s pen must have trembled in his hands as he pictured the words the Spirit birthed.
Make sure my reaction is related to His, Lord. Amen
Copyright Christine Inc.
Originally published Tuesday, 05 November 2019.
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