Tidbits: Chapter 5

As I read Chapter 5 in Crazy Love I was struck by two things:

1. Oh my God, this is painful. Soul-wrenching. Convicting to the max.
2. Conviction is a good thing.

And so I was thinking about conviction and santification and the verse in Psalms 66 that tells us "For we have been refined as silver is refined."

Silver is refined by melting it down, silver melts at nearly 1800 degrees f.

There is something wonderful and beautiful that God is bringing us to through this study, but the refining process is not a painless thing.

An old poem that came to mind while thinking through tonight.
Its old and not very good, please forgive me. I still like it though after all these years.

When The Hammer Hits The String

When the hammer hits the string
Before the melody beings to ring
Before there was a song to sing
What pain lies in the hammer blow?

And see the silver of the crown
How many times was it melted down
And now its brilliance shines all around
What pain lies in the forger's flame?

What pain lies in the hammer blow
When all has been turned white as snow?
And would the silver want to show
The dirt and dross above it's glow?

So what pain lies before the throne above
What pain remembered within His love
And all the tears that would remind us of
What pain lies in the hands of God...

All gone amidst the beauty