"A word fitly spoken is like
apples of gold in pictures of silver"
Proverbs 16:24
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Wisdom With Words
God's Image
A group of
women in a Bible Study were studying Malachi, Chapter
3 as they came across verse 3 which says, "He will
sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." They were puzzled, 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 this woman made an appointment with a silversmith
to watch him work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her
interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining it.
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 impurities.
The woman
thought about God holding us in such a hot spot, then she thought again about
the verse.
"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 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.
When I see my image in
it."
If today you
are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that you are in God's hand. He has
his eye on you and he will keep holding you and watching you until he sees his
image in you.
Author
Unknown
(Shared by
Anna)
