Verse seven, of Peter’s first chapter, is one of my favorite verses, and is easily one of the most recognizable verses about the endurance of our faith as believers.

Take a moment and read it for yourself. You can find it in 1 Peter 1:7.

Peter has just been speaking of the certainty of trials and tribulations that we will face. This is one of the major themes of his letter, and he will come back to it again. But here, he gives a brief reason for why such things happen to Christians: They help to refine our faith.

When we suffer for the sake of Christ, those who are persecuting us, and ultimately, the main enemy, Satan, intend it for harm. But God can and will turn it for good.

This brings to mind Joseph’s statement to his brothers in Genesis 50:20:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

The analogy that Peter uses is one of gold, a most precious of metals. As gold is heated in the smelting process, the impurities can be strained out, leaving only the precious metal.

This is not a difficult process, when it comes to gold, but it does take some special considerations. Pure gold is simply too tough to melt with an ordinary fire. Pure gold has a melting point of 1945 degrees Fahrenheit. Once gold reaches a liquid state, the impurities and dross will float to the top, and can be removed, resulting in a higher purity of gold.

This process have been known since ancient times, and Peter uses it as the example of our faith and persecution. When persecution happens, it heats us, so to speak. In so doing, our ‘impurities” are identified, and we can remove them, thus purifying our faith. Trials serve to refine the believer, testing our faithfulness, refining it, strengthening it.

There is one final detail worth considering here. Gold is a precious metal, and very valuable, but it is still something that is perishable, and will be destroyed completely eventually. Our faith, by contrast, has an eternal nature, and it results in three things: praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Question: How valuable do you consider your faith to be? Do you realize the true value of faith, or do you tend to take it for granted? You can leave a comment by clicking here.