Worth It

Our son tapped one of the maple trees in our yard a few weeks ago.  He was able to collect about three gallons of sap in a matter of hours.

The whole process was labor intencive.  First, he collected the sap, then he boiled it for a long time on an open fire in the back yard.   (He's old school.  No indoor, electric stove cooking for him.)  Then he filtered the liquid.

The longest part of the process was boiling the sap over the open fire to refine it.  After the fire process, the maple syrup was still dark and cloudy from the open fire, but once the sticky substance dripped through the filter, out came an amber colored syrup that was pure and clear.

All the debris and impurities were gone.  The only thing left was pure, sweet, maple syrup.

In the spring, nature tells the maple tree to release its sap.  If someone takes the time to tap the tree, and put in the labor, the return will be great.   Our life'a journey is a little bit like this.

The Lord wants to refine each of us--if we let Him.  He's willing to put the time in on each one of us, if we're willing to go through the refining process.

Here we are, bursting with potential and possibilities, but we must submit to a spiritual refining just like the sap from the maple tree.   Endurance, fire, and filtering must all take place in our lives to produce the best product.

As we surrender our lives to the refining fire of God and the filtering of the Spirit, the necessary purging of all impurities will make us refined like silver.

Psalm 66:10 in the NET Bible says, For you, O God, tested us; you purified us like refined silver.

Our son was pretty proud of that syrup, and I saw all the work he put into making it.  The weather was cold and the fire needed wood and the sap needed to be stirred.  And he was steadfast as he patiently put in the effort for the finished product.

Why?  Because it was worth it!

This is how God looks at us even during the refining process, his eyes of love are always on us.

For you are a people holy to the LORD you're GOD.

He has chosen you to be His people,

prized above all others on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 14:2 (NET BIBLE) 

Whatever stage of the refining process you're in today, hang in there, because you're Worth It!