GOD, LIKE A SILVER SMITH, PURIFIES HIS CHILDREN...

Have you ever heard a Christian admit his affliction is from His loving heavenly Father? Usually we blame circumstances, others, or whatever, and will even shake our fist in God's face if deeply disturbed. We know the familiar line: If God would do this to me, He isn't a God of love. Rare is the child of God who admits he needed it! But, the fact is, we do and ought to admit God doesn't begin to give us our just deserts. We need in this fun loving age to remember GOD IS MORE INTERESTED IN OUR HOLINESS THAN OUR HAPPINESS! (cf Hebrews 12:4-11).

"My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights" (Prov. 3:11,12). Read further in Hebrews 12:4-13.

I once read this insightful story: There was a group of women in a Bible study on the Book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, the came across verse three, which says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” Puzzled, the women wondered what this statement meant and what it said about the character 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 she phoned a silver smith 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 silver smith, 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, that 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 the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. It 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 the silver smith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s when I see my image in it.” 

If I’m presently feeling the heat of the fire, I know that God has His eye on me and really does love me. He may seem far away but He's right there!

- dick christen