“Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where gold is refined. Job 28:1
The pastor mentioned the cleansing of the Holy Spirit in the heart of those who believe in Jesus yesterday. And it came to me how often I have thought of the Spirit of God in my heart in the manner of a house cleaner with a dust rag, perhaps grabbing a sponge for the occasional sticky mess, but surely nothing I couldn't do myself with a bit of effort, right? Perhaps a better analogy for the work of the Spirit though is one of a miner deep in the center of a mountain breaking up the rock-hard sin and mining it with a pick and ore cart. The cleansing of the heart of man is not one of light cleaning, but of back-breaking, difficult work in a deep, dark place. With this analogy in hand, we might find it easier to understand the lifetime it takes to remove every last trace of the sin born within us at conception. In with all of that rock-hard sin mined out by the Spirit come those veins of gold and silver. Often buried deep they are found, but with His holy energy and patience the Spirit of our Lord brings out the treasure from the dross and waste until one day each of us who believe in the Son are prepared to meet the Father.
We are the work of the Spirit of God, not of ourselves.
Bucky
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