Refiner's Fire



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 their 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.
  
     Pass this on to everyone you know. Right now, this
     very moment, someone needs to know that God is
     watching over them.  And, whatever they're
     going through, they'll be a better person in the end.
  
     "Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish,
     but you can only spend it once."

Submitted by R. L. Fitzgerald


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