Heart Test

Gold has been treasured by mankind for a long time, with gold bars and jewelry dating as early as 4000 B.C. It also has some very interesting properties. For instance, a cubic foot of gold weighs about half-a-ton, and a one-ounce piece of gold can be pressed to cover 300 square feet. Gold is refined to remove its impurities. This usually involves a lengthy process of heating and cooling cycles. Gold is tested with heat; it is made pure by going through the fire.

Just as most gold is naturally impure, humans in their natural state are filled with impurities. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). And the answer follows: “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (v. 10).

We can’t determine the purity of a piece of gold by just looking at it; neither can humans be judged by what is on the outside. While our actions can give a clue to our characters, only God can read our thoughts and see inside our hearts. Only He can judge our content with accuracy.

What are we made of? What is in our characters? “The Lord tests the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3). None of us are perfect, but God doesn’t abandon us. When necessary He allows trials to come our way. Through the heat of these trials our hearts are refined—if our faith is in God.

Key Bible Texts

The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. (Proverbs 17:3 KJV)