Refining Silver

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some people in a Bible study and they wondered what
this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the people 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
so 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 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 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.
Whatever you're going through, you will be a better person in the end.

'Life is a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can only
spend it once.'

I recieved this is an email the other day, and thought I'd share. What a great parallel.