"The SILVERSMITH"

-Author Unknown.


Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study 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, 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 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 -- 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.