Refiner of Silver

This week, I stumbled upon an old story I had put away years ago. I have no idea who the original author is. Once again, it is a story reproduced countless times via email and on sites around the world. As always, I would love to give proper credit to the author, so if you have any reliable information about this little gem, please email me with the details. Here’s the story:

There were a group of women in a Bible Study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three, which reads:

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled the women 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, this woman called up 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, "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."

So… if you are feeling the heat of this world's fire, just remember that you are being held in God’s hands, and God is focused on you.

My wife is fond of telling our daughters: “God’s not done with you, yet.” I KNOW He’s not done with me, as I feel plenty of heat working on all my impurities. I just pray that, little by little, I continue to improve in God’s hands, and that I can reflect His image more and more.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave