the Refiner's fire
PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:57 am
i got a forward today that i had read/heard once a while ago and really liked, so i thought i'd share since it has a great message.
Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what
this
statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver
And get back to the group at the next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to
watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her
interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the
Fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed
to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were
hottest
as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she
thought
again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of
silver."
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in
Front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man
Answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but
he
had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire.
If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be
destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How
do
you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and
answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has
His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
"Life is a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can only
spend it once."