May 17 2007
Some like it hot
After a long day at the office, I nursed a work-induced migrained with a steaming bowl of chicken pho. Powering up my iMac, I checked my e-mail. In my in-box, I found a message from a friend who often sends blasts of Biblical wisdom to her friends and family. These encouraging gems seem to always come at just the right time to speak to my heart and lift my downcast spirit.
Malachi 3:3 says: He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.
This verse puzzles some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. So one of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and got back to the group at their next 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 sliversmith, 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 the hottest, as to burn away the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says “He will sit 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 othe 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. Keep on keeping on!
Is it hot in here, or is it just me?
A 30-something Christian girl, blissfully wedded to her perfect match (the yang to her yin) of 14 years. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from her hometown, a slave to her mortgage payment, but seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest.
Hmmm… reminds me of a song
“Refiner’s fire
My heart’s one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You, Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your will”
I come across your site perhaps by the power of God and heard what He has been trying to say to me. You are so right; it takes heat to purify. I was told by the small gentle voice of the Holy Spirit that Silver is symbolic of our Faith and Gold is symbolic of our Love. In another verse in the scripture our Lord tells us to purchase of Him Silver and Gold. Only with our continual Faith and Love towards Him when the heat of life gets turned up is our Faith and Love purified and we begin to look like him. I am struggling today and you helped to lift me up with your blog…Thank You and may God please Bless you and yours.