Proverbs 25:4 states, ‘Take away the dross from silver and it is ready to go to the silversmith.’
When we look at beautiful jewelry made of silver, we are looking at a finished product. It is a long process to mine and extract the metal from the rock deep in the earth. This correlates to us being called out of the world and into the Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus.
After the silver is mined, it has to be refined. When heat is applied, all the impurities embedded in the silver float to the top where it is skimmed off. These impurities, called dross, must be removed for the silver to be used properly. Every time the silver is heated, there is less and less dross until finally you have a pure product.
If the silver is not pure the jeweler cannot use it. Jewelry made from impure silver will not hold up to the pressure put on it because it is in a weakened state. It simply will not hold its shape. The impurities must be removed.
We are similar to silver. We are called out of this world and as the silver is extracted from the rock, so our sins that hold us in bondage are forgiven and removed from us. We are new creations in Christ. 2 Cor 5:17
Then comes the refining fire of the Holy Spirit to shape and mold us into the image of Christ. This is where our dross is removed and it is not a quick thing but actually a lifetime process. Hopefully all of the major sins that have ruled our life have fallen away but that’s not the end of the story. Each day as we seek Christ with a whole heart, the deeper issues of life start to be exposed. Some people ignore these and sweep them under the rug and try to move on, but to have a meaningful relationship with our Creator, we must work through these things.
The deeper issues of life that are not so obvious are usually the ones that bring us down. We might have had serious addictions and when we accepted Christ, they lost their power over us, but if we don’t deal with the root issues in our heart that actually caused those addictions, we will find ourselves going around in cycles of sin. Before Christ, we sinned all the time but now since we’re born again, our familiar sins come around in cycles. It’s a vicious merry-go-round that won’t stop until we say ‘enough’ and do something about it.
Do you have dross in your life that is keeping you from a more fulfilling walk with God. If you’ll humbly ask the Lord to reveal anything that is hindering you from a closer walk with Him, He will absolutely answer that prayer. It is His desire to have a deep relationship with you.
Lord, thank You for saving us from our sins and calling us into Your Kingdom. Show us our hearts and reveal anything that is blocking us from the blessing of a deeper walk with You. We thank You in the name of Jesus. Amen!
