Throughout the ages, gold as a metal has always attracted people’s attention and captivated their minds with its beauty and value. It is a rather rare mineral resource that has historically been elevated to the status of a precious metal. In many cases, gold has become the unit by which the value of a nation’s currency or other monetary assets is measured. Even in our time, the very word “gold” is associated with something costly and beautiful.
Gold jewelry and gold-covered architectural features always give aesthetic pleasure because of this metal’s distinctive appearance and luster.
Gold is also considered the most malleable material, easy to shape and remelt. It possesses anticorrosive properties.
When we hear expressions such as “golden hands,” “a golden mind,” “a golden person,” or “a heart of gold,” we understand that they no longer refer to the metal, but to a person’s valuable qualities and abilities—to his special attractiveness in the eyes of society or particular individuals.
And now Jesus offers us another kind of gold, one that has special value in the eyes of Heaven and makes everyone who acquires it truly rich and precious.
“Tried in the fire” means that it possesses exceptional purity. It is free from every kind of impurity, has been treated at a high temperature, and contains nothing but gold. During refining, gold expels all foreign substances, which are easily recognized and differ greatly from the precious metal.
Fire symbolizes the trials through which every child of God passes in order to be cleansed from various harmful habits and shortcomings, to see his true nature, and to discover the hidden qualities of the soul that may reveal themselves under particular circumstances and conditions. Fiery trials help expose the essence of a person’s soul, revealing the sinfulness that still remains in his heart and strengthening him in the right things God has taught him. No son or daughter of God will escape the fiery trials appointed by God.
Gold tried in the fire means that it has already passed through the process of cleansing and refining in fiery trials. It is now offered to me in this form so that it may become my possession and make me rich in the eyes of Jesus.
What, then, does this gold mean in the eyes of the Lord?
Heavenly gold is that which has eternal value. It is what has always been precious in the eyes of Heaven, is precious now, and will remain desirable throughout Eternity. Nothing material fits the meaning of this symbol. But our relationship with God and our relationships with one another are important to Him. These alone can be taken with us into the eternal world. And the value of these relationships is determined by the presence of love.
God is Love. God’s love is of the highest value to us, for only by having it within myself can I truly love my neighbor and relate rightly to God.
Job 22:25 states: “Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.”
Love is not merely a principle or a feeling, but God Himself, Who is Love within me. This is easy to say, difficult to imagine, and even more difficult to explain.
None of us has seen God, and since we have not seen Him, we can comprehend and understand Him only by faith.
Galatians 5:6 states: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”
Faith and love are two inseparable sisters who live for one another; together with their brother, the Word of God, they form the fullness called Agape. It is impossible to tear one part out of this union and be content with it. The result would be an invalid leaning upon the crutches of personal judgments and errors.
The fire that refines gold consists of the trials through which love and faith pass and in which every right foundation is established. Fire melts everything, consuming what is secondary and separating what is precious from what is empty. We read in 1 Peter 4:12: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” And in 1 Peter 1:7: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”
When I shape objects from clay, they are soft and pliable in my hands. I make a vase, set it down, look at it from a distance, and then decide to turn it into a pitcher by attaching handles and changing its shape. If I do not like something, I can crush my work and remake it. But once I have created the masterpiece of my craftsmanship, I decide to preserve it in that form and place it in the sunlight, which dries my little masterpiece on every side and strengthens its structure. Yet if I wish, I can still mix it with water and remake it. Once the object has dried, I heat the kiln and place it in the fire, leaving it there for the required time. After the fiery trial, I check it for cracks. Now I have a strong vessel ready for daily use.
Heavenly gold was tested in the life of Jesus. That test exposed every foreign impurity of falsehood that people attempted to introduce into God’s love by interpreting it in their own way. Christ’s death revealed to the entire world and the whole Universe the purity of Agape love, its value, and its enduring influence. There is no evil in love. It has nothing in common with sin. It proved to everyone Who God is and how strong and unshakable His Love is for His creation. If anyone had doubted God’s character when He was accused of dictatorship and selfishness and alien qualities were attributed to Him, the life and death of Christ brought an end to all these attacks. God’s Agape Love appeared before the entire world in all its purity and splendor.
And now the Owner of this love desires to sell it to me, at the same time granting me faith and the knowledge of how to use all of it. This means that, as the gold becomes united with my nature, it will lead me through the fire of trials in order to cleanse my soul and mind to Heavenly holiness, making me fit for Eternity and for the final conflict with the forces of evil in this world.
This process makes me truly rich in the eyes of Heaven and brings with it every accompanying blessing for life on this Earth. I receive unlimited access to the storehouses of God’s love and may take as much of it as is necessary to overcome every kind of lust of the flesh and to pay for various services at any time. I may adorn myself, my life, and my dwelling with this gold and receive only God’s approval and blessing.
But I will need it most of all in the last days, in the battle of Armageddon, where I will have to face the storm and gain the final victory in love, truth, and obedience to God’s will and law.
Jesus is waiting for my decision. I am going to buy the Heavenly merchandise.
With a smile, the Seller hands me a certificate of my right to possess this treasure, placing upon my forehead a special mark of His approval. He tells me that He will come to supper and explain how to use it now. It turns out to be an entire science, and it must be learned. But the most important thing is that it is no longer somewhere in a prophecy; it is now in my heart and mind.
Homework 85
What did you understand from this lesson? How did you previously understand the symbol of gold tried in the fire? Why did the Lord designate love and faith specifically for the church of the last days? How do you understand the expression “buy gold” in real life? What does it mean? In what way do love and faith enrich me? Why do I appear poor in God’s eyes without these Heavenly goods, even though I live in obedience to the truth? Please read Daniel 12:10; Isaiah 1:25; Job 23:10; Zechariah 13:9; and Malachi 3:2–3 in the light of our lesson.