The Purification Process

Lately have spent a lot of time reflecting back on my time in Costa Rica in 2012. I spent 5 months doing a DTS (discipleship training school) through YWAM (Youth With a Mission). Even though it was 6 years ago, I am still learning to apply many of the basic truths that I learned to my life. During my first few weeks of school we learned a lot about purification. This is a revamped version of something I wrote during that time. 

No mineral is 100% pure when it is extracted from the earth. Gold for example, need to be heated (melted) to get rid of the impurities. When the gold becomes a liquid, the impurities rise to the top and are scraped off. They continue to melt the gold and scrape off the impurities over and over. You can tell that the gold has finally become pure when you see your reflection clearly in the gold.

Growing in your Christian faith is not always easy. We are born broken and sinners. Becoming like God can be painful-we undergo the process of being "scraped of our impurities". But as we continue in this process God's reflection begins to become more clear and evident in us.

 Purification is a process; we need to restore the altar and temple in our lives. In Ezra 3, the Israelites rebuild God's temple in order to reconcile with him. As human beings, our hearts are our alters. 6 years ago I began a journey towards a greater understanding and process of having a better relationship with God. That journey is a process of purifying my heart. It is not one that I can do alone, but through the help of the Holy Spirit and encouragement of my church body. 

Philippians 3:12 says, "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which I was also laid hold of by Christ Jesus," Obviously in this world, I will never become perfect...but growing in relationship with God is process in which I will continue on through my life. While God does look at what is on the inside, as our insides are scraped of impurities and renewed the reflection of this will carry to the outside. Others will begin to see a transformation and a reflection of who Christ is.