A Good Filter

Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.

What if God told you that? What if God told you that Satan was gonna sift you, press you, shake your world to see what falls out, what passes the test, what rises to the top? Sifting in it’s definition is about the removal of impurities, the pressing of something through a strainer to see what is strong enough to survive the test. The good can be what falls through the filter, or what survives the pressing and remains. Peter (Simon) was the most outspoken disciple, the loudest, proudest, gonna out-do everyone else in the group, the never will fail Jesus when others will…..yet Jesus said you won’t even admit you know me when asked. The commentaries are fascinating and deep in the context of this passage, but we must simply understand that sifting is part of the sanctification process of Christianity, of God’s ways of making us more like Christ, of how God removes the impurities in our lives to draw us ultimately closer to him.

There likely is not a Christian who understands this sifting in some degree. There is not a true Christian that has not experienced some pain since Salvation; prosperity gospels that preach differently do not produce the sifting of God, and therefore lead others to Hell. When I think of my testimony, of my continued sin struggles, of how I am unworthy, yet God gives more grace, I remember how God talked about Paul’s conversion. God took the “greatest sinner by his own words,” and used him to reach the world, yet he also suffered greatly along the way. Acts 9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” God was continually sifting Paul, removing the pride as Peter, and through the pain drew both of them to incredible ministries and heavenly work.

There is another avenue of sifting, a practical daily approach to living as a Christian. Do you filter your life through your faith? Do you question what you see, what you hear, how you respond, how you proclaim, how you live life in view of how God views your life? Do those around you know you are a Christian, or how do they view Christianity by the way the supposed Christian acts? If you realize you need to act more like a Christian, that conviction of sin is healthy. To make the change is simple; just pray and open God’s Word each day and read. That creates a filter that removes impurities, lets the good in you rise to the top, lets the world see Christ in you. Sifting doesn’t always have to hurt, but a good filter makes a better Christian.