Burnt: Bitter, Better

Made some Pork Loin Korean BBQ the other day and the searing went up in smoke. Too much sugar in the sauce, too little butter in the skillet, too much heat underneath. The meat was still good but I lost control.

Cleaning the skillet proved to be a long-process over several days. First, I scraped off what I could, then I soaked it in water and soap, and then I spread oil over the ruins. Bit by bit the bitterness came off, a flake at a time.

We all hope life to be sweet and saucy with a bit of searing for taste. But, then that hope gets burned up into a pyre where what remains is bitter and black. We wash ourselves with the Word, chisel on through the hardened crust of life, and the Holy Spirit provides His oil of salve.

Probably the most effective way to clean a pan like this is to crank up the heat until the bitterness lets go. It can only persist so long until it turns to ash under the extreme heat. I used to have an oven where its self-cleaning option essentially did this, it turned to ash all of the grime and gunk--and all that was left were wispy piles of whiteness.

None of us likes adversity yet I have seen when God allows trials to come or brings them (I believe He does bring trials into our lives as discipline), it can train us up to let go of bitterness. Weird solution but when we hand Him the pan, He does His work in the refiner's furnace.