The Refining Process
“There was 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 says: “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 about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study.
That week the 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 in silver 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 in order to 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 God sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith, “Is it true that you have to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver is being refined?” The man answered, “Yes, I not only have to sit here holding the silver, but I also have keep my eye on the silver the entire time it is in the fire. If the silver were left even 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 finished when I can see my image in it.”
Jesus Christ is continually refining us so that we will reflect His image.

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