[Cherry Blossoms, 2010, JAVanDevender]
Daniel 3:24-25 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king." "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
What a story! The courage of those three young men, Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego, has echoed throughout the eons, wherever the Gospel has been proclaimed. To face the most fearsome man then alive, Nebudchadnezzar, and with unswerving virtue proclaim to him... (Daniel 3:17-18 ) "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."
Those words still resonate with us. Here is obedience. Here is the confidence of faith. "You don't have to wait for an answer, O King, we have it already. Do with us as you will. Our God can shield us from the flames or He can burn us to a crisp. It is His call. But this is our call - this is our freedom - that we will not bow to any other god but that One True God who is above all kings, all principalities and all powers." Oh to have that confidence and faith... to stand unafraid before the prospect of the unthinkably horrible. Yet... in one sense... these men had no other choice. They were being threatened with Heaven (as a friend of mine long ago called it). To choose anything other than heaven was simply absurd. But still, what an encouragement to us.
There it is the other aspect of this story that intrigues me. It is how Christ, the Son of God, is seen in the flames. It was obedience to God which caused the men to be tossed into the fiery furnace. But it was the enduring of the flames that set the stage for seeing Christ in them. It was only in the midst of the trial that they saw Jesus (pre-incarnate). And is this not true still?
Why do we face trials? So that Christ may be revealed in them... to us and to the world around us. If and when we suffer unjustly (and truly there is nothing that we ever actually experience that is truly unjust... we deserve nothing better than what ever happens to us and usually a lot worse) for the cause of Christ, this consolation is our hope. God's purposes in bringing us to that suffering, to that trial, is so that He may be revealed... that His power may be made manifest... that His wisdom may be demonstrated. Christ is revealed in the flames... often with more power, authority and perfection than any of our spoken words or written theological treatises. We are not to seek out opportunities to suffer... that would be to arrogate to ourselves that which belongs to God alone... but neither are we to unduly fear them or be panic stricken at the prospect. Trials are God's refining fire... and the gold that shines once the slag has been removed is the image of Christ.
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