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Friday!
Proverbs!
Remove impurities from silver, 
and material will be produced for a silversmith. 
Remove the wicked from the king's presence, 
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
Proverbs 25:4-5 CSB
Interesting pictures the writer paints for us. Material that includes silver is processed so that the dross can be removed and the pure silver is available for a craftsman to create something of beauty and utility. 
And the king has an opportunity to form his kingdom, establish his purposes, when the wicked are removed.
And my mind immediately goes "look over there, at that person, at them, they're the problem. Get rid of them and the kingdom will be all good".
And that may well be true.
But eventually I'm encouraged to look within, and see where this applies to me. 
What do I need to be processing and discarding so that I can become that person who God envisioned? Who He sees and wants to see flourish?
And it brings me back to Grace. Grace that adopted me into the King's family and Grace that sees me as holy and blameless (see Eph 1:4)
This proverb prompts both a realistic view of me and the dross that still needs processing, and the Grace that I live in because of Jesus.
And in that place, we can step into today with both compassion for ourselves and for the world in which we live.
#proverbs
#wisdom
#somethingtochewon

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