"He Will Sit as a Refiner and Purifier of Silver..."

I know this one has made the email rounds in the past, but in case some haven't read it here it is again:

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi,and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness."

While reading Malachi chapter 3 this verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. They were perplexed about the remarkable expression in the third verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

One woman spoke up and said she thought the verse was intended to convey the sanctifying influence of the grace of God. Another woman offered to find out about 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 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 - it's fully refined 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. Someone needs to know that God is watching over them and that He will not leave them in the flame one moment longer than necessary to see His image.

And, whatever you're going through, if you can find gratitude for His Master Plan you will grow spiritually and become more like JESUS! How awesome is that?!


Author Unknown

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