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“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have people who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years (Malachi 3:1-4).

Here it is, the Friday before Christmas, the end of Advent. Our trees are lit, our homes decorated, gifts purchased and food ready. The nativity scenes illuminate our windows and front yards. Its time for all the warm fuzzies of Christmas Eve and morning, of family around the gifts and the table.

It would be nice if the Bible authenticated our domesticated versions of Christmas. But on all accounts the Bible portrays the event, both in terms of its deep meaning and the realities of those who lived the first Christmas, as something radically different from our fantasies of the perfect Christmas. Our text on this final Advent Wilderness Wanderings is no exception.

These verses once puzzled some folks in a Bible study. They wondered what it meant about the character and nature of God. So, one of them offered to consult a silversmith to learn about the process of refining silver.

The smith held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. He not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver while it was in the fire. If left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The Bible student asked, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled while answering, "Oh, that's easy...when I see my image in it.”

It is difficult to keep this in mind as we celebrate Christmas. But this is the point. To the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (4:22-24).

This was prophesied by Malachi. Israel had returned from Exile but was picking up old habits: greed, injustice, and disregard for God. The early chapters detail these things. Israel is questioning God’s commitment to her. “Why is God not blessing us?” In our text Malachi says that God is coming. “But who can endure the day of his coming?”

God comes in love, absolutely. But his love includes judgement. This is not a judgement of destruction, but of purification. God’s people will be refined, “For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.” John the baptizer, the messenger, used the images of purifying fire to describe his work. He indicated Jesus would have this same purifying effect. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would convict us of sin.

God loves us, yes, but he doesn't want to leave us as we are. He wants us to be just like Jesus. God desires to turn His children from rough, hard-edged stones into gems of gold and silver. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.

Christmas harkens to God’s laundry machine, that our lives are lived in it. Its whirling back and forth cleans us. The Spirit of God is the water, and the Word of God, the soap. Jesus operates it, not from a distance waiting for the finish beep. No, Jesus is standing by the machine watching closely what is happening; sometimes heating up the water, sometimes cooling it down, sometimes speeding up the machine and sometimes slowing it down.

Not till he returns will the work be finished. Through all this purifying and washing, Jesus is transforming us into a holy community offering genuine worship to Him. Till then, Jesus is hard at work getting rid of our anger, rage, lust, selfishness, hatred, discord, drunkenness, and such things. He is producing in us love, joy, peace patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When God takes us through the refiner's fire, let us be encouraged because he is committed to turn us from a rough, hard-edged stone to a precious metal. He will do this through events in our workplace, our relationships, and other circumstances in our live. This is the reason for Christmas. Let’s not blow out the fire.