The Refiner’s Fire

Malachi 3:3

And He shall 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.

God is at work in each of his children to change them into the image of Christ. This is His expressed purpose as attested in Romans 8:29. His work in us has been compared to that of a refiner of precious metals. As I was studying about this process, I was sent an email on this subject and want to share part of it with you.

A woman who read Malachi 3:3 called up a silver smith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She only said that she was curios about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silver smith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and heated it. 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 about the verse, He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.

She asked the silver smith 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 it, but he had to keep his eyes on it the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked him how he knew when the silver was fully refined. He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that's the easy part --when I see my image reflected in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you... until He sees His image in you. That makes it all worth while.