“The furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” is one of those images we might like to ignore, but there it was in the gospel for last Sunday, and here it is again. I am called to address it. For some, it is a dreadful picture of what the afterlife may hold in store. I see it differently. For me, it is the fire of God’s love, cleansing, purifying our hearts as gold is refined in fire (Sir.2:5, Job 23:10, Isa.48:10, Zech.13:9), preparing us for meeting God face to face, for eternal life enfolded in God’s glory.

Over and over again, throughout scripture God manifests his presence in fire. Moses hears his call from God out of the burning bush that is not consumed (Ex.3:2ff), and the Israelites are led through the wilderness with a pillar of fire by night (Ex.13:21). Elijah, at the end of his life, is carried away by a chariot and horses of fire (II Kgs.2:12). Ezekiel sees visions of chariots of fire in his prophecies, and Daniel sees God seated on a fiery throne (Dan.7:9). When Daniel’s three companions are tossed into the fiery furnace by the king, God is there with them and brings them safely out of the ordeal (Dan.3:25ff). On the day of Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples, huddled in the upper room, experience God’s presence touching them with tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). The fire of God’s love is not such a fearful prospect!

When we experience God’s furnace of fire, when our eyes are opened to see how far we have strayed from God’s ways, when our hearts are convicted by all that is unholy in our lives, I expect there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Weeping over the grief and sadness we have caused God by all our sinful, self-centered choices and gnashing our teeth over the pain of having our attachments burned away as the dross from gold. Paul describes it well in his first letter to the church in Corinth (I Cor.3:13-15) where he says, “the fire will test what sort of work each has done….If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Our God is a consuming fire (Heb.12:29), and he does not leave us in the mess we’ve made of our lives. In his steadfast love and mercy, he meets us where we are as we are and prepares us for his glory for it is the pure in heart who see God (Mt. 5:8).