The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-08-14
THE PURIFYING FIRE.
BY ERMINA G. STRAY.

effects of the consuming fire in some
of the natural products of earth
which have to pass through heat in
order to become pure; and we know
that gold and silver are always tried
by fire. They are not accepted at
their real value until they are SO
tried, because no one would know
how much of the earthly mixture was
spurious, or how much was real.
They are cast into the crucible and
come out of the furnace with the
dross purged away, and the pure
metal alone left. Then the metal
which is left, all there was which
was gold OF silver, (for the purifying
effects of fire do not destroy the real
metal: only burn and purge away
the dross,) is taken and worked, and
hammered and polished, until the
hand that worked it into its present
perfect form can see his own face in
its polished surface. And yet,
through all this process, through all
this burning, and beating and work
ing, not one atom of the pure metal is
lost.
Can we not see the application. So
God will purify his children by the
fire of his judgment, but not one will
he lose. Sometimes we think the
blows upon our heart-strings are
enough to rend the spirit from the
body; but sometimes we are so one
sided and mishappen that it takes
tremendous blows to train us into a
semblance of our Lord and Saviour;
and how many, many blows and heart
rending sorrows he had to endured
Can we not patiently bear some in re-
turn to be made in his likeness? The
fire that purifies the purest metal
| and separates it from its worthless
surroundings has often to burn to a
white heat, which is, of all fires, the
most terrible destructive; and yet it
must be applied to bring about the
necessary separation before the puri-
fed gold is fit to be nodded into the
| desired form. So Gods consuming
fire oftimes has to rage around us.
in and through us, to destroy the
worthless and the bad, but when the
desired end is attained, the great
Creator of the universe can see his
own likeness in the purified elements
left.
This lis why God is likened to a
consuming fire. 1t is his purpose to
keep this fire burning day and night
and night and day until every parti-
Gle of .dross and filth is purged away
from the heart of man. 1t is natural
for us to rebel against this consum-
ing element, and wonder if anybody
ever had so much trouble and sorrow
before, but just as long as the re-
bellion and the bitterness lasts, just
so long is it necessary to apply the
fires of purification and the chisel
and hammer of transformation. And
if the end is not accomplished in this
life,s i am quite sure the work will
continue in the next, until it is ac-
complished. Indeed, see no reason
for doubling it, for God never un-
dertakes to do anything that he can
not do, and he will never allow man
or evil to balk him in his designs.
Those designs are the ultimate
holiness and happiness of all men
which must be brought about through
the travails of the soul, through
trouble and sorrow and trial, through
severe Affections worked in each indi-
vidual according to his need of ofpurifi-
cation, and some undoubtedly need
more than others. But through all we
can see the wisdom and love that
prompts it, and we are gratified that
we can understand its necessity. His
consuming fire will cleanse and purify
all the elements of our nature and
fashion us more and more into his
own image, and beat AMI polish us
until he can see his own likeness in
the work of his hands.
NOBLE, o.