Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD Ever since man began mining the earth six thousand years ago, he has been enchanted by gold. Cavemen sought gold. Ancient Egyptians discovered a method of hammering gold so thin it took 367,000 leaves to make a pile an inch high. Gold has been a mark of wealth for thousands of years and has been the money standard of many nations. Many people have died in their effort to possess even a little of it. Yet Peter says there is something far more valuable than gold: the trial of our faith. These are strange words, coming from one whose faith failed when he was tried. Writing his book to encourage believers who were plunged into great persecution, Peter says they will come through with lives strengthened and their faith more pure. In the fire of persecution, dross is burned from our lives; and we cast aside all those things not absolutely essential for our spiritual existence. There seems to be a strange alchemy in tears that washes away our human pretensions so that we see eternal values more clearly. Peter understood the "trial of faith." He had bragged publicly that he would never forsake the Lord even though others would. No, he would die for Christ. However, when the crisis came, Peter denied he even knew his Master. Painful experiences often become our best means of education. This was true with Peter. He learned in his pain that faithfulness depends on a relationship with the Master, not on the personal strength of one's personality.