"...he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." -- 2 Timothy 2:21

One thing that is no fun about faith stuff -- the refining process. I think about the scene in the first "Lord of the Rings" movie, where they are making weapons. Swords are being forged in this dungeon by the bad guys; liquid iron is poured into molds, cooled, then hammered and sharpened into shape for battle. It looks hot, hard, and like it is not a fun job. Makes me think of the forging and refining process of faith, and even of parenting. We work hard with our kiddos to teach them the right things to do, the right way to act. Sometimes it is easy, most of the time it is hard work, kind of like making a sword. You shape, sweat, pray, bleed, sweat some more, and it takes a lot of metaphorical elbow grease to teach our young ones to become people of character. Same goes for our personal faith -- we have to put the time in, digging, sweating, reading, praying, bleeding...but through that process, God refines us and forges us into something great and for a greater purpose. The passage from 2 Timothy is amazing to me -- Tim was dealing with some yucko church stuff, having to do some hard work and replacing bad leaders. Through the process, Paul encourages him to remember that seeking good things refines him (and us) and prepares for noble purpose, to do great things empowered by Him for the kingdom. Pretty cool thought, I think.

And that's what I want, for me, for my children, for you, too...