Do you own any silver? Something in your home you use or have on display that is made of silver?
We have one article made of silver. It sits on the hearth of our fireplace. It’s a silver cylindrical container, 6 inches in diameter, with a hinged lid and ornate edges. We keep matches in it to light the fire in the fireplace.
It has sat there for years doing its job, but not looking very good. It’s all tarnished. It has become a combination of black, steely blue and dark grey. You wouldn’t even know it’s silver. It just looks like a dirty metal container because it’s completely covered in a thin layer of corrosion known as tarnish.
In our pastor’s message this weekend he mentioned something about silver and how his mom used to shine up their silverware. I thought of this container and figured I would try cleaning it. I scoured through our cleaning supplies and discovered a little metal container of something called “Silvo Metal Polish”. You pour a little out on a cloth, wipe down your silver and when the cleaning compound has dried you buff it off with a clean dry cloth.
Simple enough – kind of like waxing a car. So, I gave it a shot.
Wow. I was amazed at the results.
Our grubby little match container was transformed into a brand new glory. No more was it the forgotten, drab, lifeless metal “box” covered in dust sitting on the hearth beside the firewood. No way. It is now stunning. It is brilliant. It is eye-catching. It is glorious.
The transformation is really quite miraculous. I have it beside me now while I write and am astonished with its brilliance. Previously it had no capacity to reflect or shine, but now you could use it as a mirror.
I think this little match container is a metaphor for you and me.
James encourages us not to be polluted by the world. Not to become tarnished by the world. The writer of Hebrews also exhorts us to lay aside that which hinders us and the sin that entangles us and run the race set before us looking to Jesus for life. In other words, to get rid of that which tarnishes us and shine in Jesus.
Just like silver we get tarnished. It’s part of life. Yes, we can choose to resist and not engage in sin, but we are not going to bat 1000 on that. We are going to mess us. We live in an imperfect world and will not be perfect this side of heaven. So, even though we are brilliant, glorious, redeemed sons of God, we get tarnished by sin and the things of this world.
We can, however, choose to get regularly shined up. Jesus has paid the price for our sin, once for all. He knows we need regular shining to be the glorious sons of God we have been created, crafted and called to be. We need to choose to be shined up so we can profoundly reflect the Lord; so His heart can shine in and through us.
So, how can we get shined up? Well, I believe there are four profound ways we can get shined up: Surrender, Confession, Repentance, and Worship. It all begins with surrender to the Lord, to want what He wants to do in us and through us. We need to confess our sin and ask Him to forgive us and cleanse us from unrighteousness. We need to walk in repentance: to think differently, believe differently, and act differently. And then we worship Him: focus on and declare His great goodness and His good greatness realizing it’s not about us, it’s about Him.
This has got to be an ongoing life-style.
We are going to get tarnished in this life, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are glorious sons of God. It simply means we need to continue to surrender, confess, repent and worship Him in order to shine and reflect His life in us and through us.
Don’t settle for a tarnished life. It’s time for a shine.
James 1:27
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Psalm 51:10-12
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”