The Fire of God's love

In Proverbs 17:3 we read: “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.” NIV

The Lord uses fire to test us and reveal what is in our hearts. St. John of the Cross talks about this. I present to you a personal summary of a section of his book.

When fire begins to work on wood, it first must dry it out. Then it blackens the wood, making it dark and unsightly and even small bad. As the fire works it begins to drive away all the flaws. Finally the fire kindles the wood, gives it heat and light and transforms it into itself. The wood has now taken on the properties of the fire.

God’s love is like the fire. His love works in our hearts and on our lives. When we allow his love to work it begins driving out all the unsightliness within our hearts. This makes the situation seem worse that before. Our hearts are beginning to perceive themselves as they really are. God’s love is working through hardship (the crucible and the furnace) to remove the dross that exists within our hearts and lives. We are now seeing the imperfections and darkness that reside within us. Observing them now allows God’s love to begin to burn them all away.

As our hearts and lives are purged and purified, they are becoming more and more enkindled with the love of God. In essence we are taking on more of the character of God’s love. Our hearts and lives are becoming hotter and containing more divine light. (St. John of the Cross; The Dark Night of the Soul; pages 127-131)

The crucible and the furnace are doing their work!