“These (trials) have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7
“Ya wanna buy some gold?” That was the question asked by a man who had some to sell. Having an interest about a year ago, I had asked about owning gold and he had strongly recommended it. Now, needing to raise some money for an emergency, my former interest made an opportunity for both of us. Knowing NOTHING about gold, I contacted a friend of mine who does! And good thing!
The advice of my friend was to get a picture, then to have the gold tested. When the picture came, my friend said, now get it tested. So arrangements were made and the valuable coin was taken to an expert with a tool to verify its authenticity. The ‘tool’ turned out to be a fancy gun shaped object that shot some kind of magic ray at the coin. Within a second, the expert said, “it’s a fake!”
It became important to me to remember that the OBJECT being tested was the COIN! NOT the man selling it! Having been around the block many times, I have been taken advantage of many times, and sometimes intentionally. The lesson from being burned in the past has been reduced to an age old saying, “trust… but verify!” Relieved, the verse today reminded me ‘my Faith’ is under the gun!
The topic of testing by trial is a can of worms that nobody likes to open. Mostly because there are so many tests and testers to consider. The thing to remember is that God isn’t usually the one DOING the testing. Sadly, too many folks like to blame Him when He has NOTHING to do with it.
The world, the flesh and the devil are the typical culprits from which tests come. But it is important to remember that it is ‘MY FAITH’ that is being tested from all angles. NOT GOD! God is perfect! ANY leaning toward God being otherwise will only result in Faith’s failure of the test! Sadly, the world is falling for sin because it fails to WANT to trust the authenticity of the Creator of Life.
Everyone I know is going through some kind of test right now. It’s getting tough out there. But today’s verse tells me that testing is an INVESTMENT in my future. For when my faith PASSES the test, it will result in something FAR more precious than any earthly riches. Praise, Honor and Glory will be the eternal result. And that is good enough reason to press on and endure any test!
Are YOU passing the Faith Test? Or are you blaming God for something He has nothing to do with? I prefer to keep my eyes on Jesus. Not the fake stuff that glitters! How about YOU?
