Through the Fire

What is the value of life?  What would someone pay or give to spare one?  While I don’t have an absolute answer to the question I know the answer is a whole heck of a lot.  I am often humbled and reduced to tears when I think that God sent his ONLY son to save me.  Little ole unworthy me!

 

It’s funny because like most people of my generation I grew up in church.  While I knew right from wrong I didn’t have Christ in me.  My life was the exact opposite of His.  At the time I often wondered where God was when I was going through difficult situations. I wondered if God even cared.  As I struggled with things like money, career, pride, lust, selfishness, and arrogance it seemed as if God was intent on letting me struggle through things alone.  Perhaps he was too busy to care?

 

After truly coming to Christ about seven years ago, I began to look back at some of those key moments in my life where Christ seemed absent.  Over time he slowly revealed to me just how “there” He was in those moments.  Of course, that led me to wonder why he would let me go through those things if he was there all along.  I’ve learned that going through the fire is how precious metal is refined, it’s how basic structural elements are tested, and most importantly it’s how we get pruned.   If we didn’t experience failure, we wouldn’t value victory.  If we didn’t experience death, we wouldn’t value life.  If we didn’t experience pain, we wouldn’t value love.  Most importantly, if everything went our way we wouldn’t know just how much we need Him!

 

Thank God for His redemptive love!  Thank God for the gift of salvation.  Because of Him I know that no matter what I go through in this life He is at work testing me, preparing me, growing me, and loving me.  I can have complete confidence that His plan for me is at work and that He gets the glory out of each situation.  Thank God that I can be friends with his son, Jesus Christ!  Yes, I call Him friend and I hope that you do too! 

 

Every year on Thanksgiving I reflect on all that I am thankful for.  While God has blessed me with more than I deserve, the best gift He gave me was a relationship with his son.  It’s through him that I have the capacity to appreciate the other things he’s blessed me with like my soul mate, my children, my health, and everything else.  I pray that this Thanksgiving you’ll take time to thank Him for all he’s blessed you with too! 

 

Ray