1Pe 1:6 You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to be distressed by various trials1Pe 1:7 so that the genuineness of your faith--more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire--may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Refined by fire. This statement reminds me of a story I heard a few years ago about some women who took a trip to a silver smith (where silver is refined). Here is what happened:
A group of ladies had a bible study group that met every week on Thursday nights. Each week they would study the Bible and encourage each other in the upcoming weeks. Recently, they had been going through the book of 1 Peter and came across the verse that talks about gold being refined by fire. Well, the ladies did know of a silver smith in the next town over and decided to take a trip that following week to see what refining of these precious metals was all about. So, that next week they met at the church early in the morning and headed to the silver smiths. When they got there they were introduced to the owner and he took them on a tour. About 10 minutes into the tour one of the ladies asked, “Sir, can you show us how you refine the precious metals?” The owner then took to the refining area and began to refine some silver. He took the block of silver and put it in a small metal cup with a handle and held it over the fire. He then held it over the blue area of the flame. A lady asked, “Why do you hold it over the blue part of the flame and not the red?” “Ma’am”, he replied, “The blue portion of the flame is the hottest part. It is only in the hottest part of the flame that all the impurities can be purged out.” The silver smith never looked away from the silver or the fire. He was focused. So, after a few minutes of heating the silver and scraping of the impurities another lady asked, “How do you know when the silver is completely pure?” He replied with a grin, “Oh that’s easy! I know it’s done when I can see my reflection in it…”
A group of ladies had a bible study group that met every week on Thursday nights. Each week they would study the Bible and encourage each other in the upcoming weeks. Recently, they had been going through the book of 1 Peter and came across the verse that talks about gold being refined by fire. Well, the ladies did know of a silver smith in the next town over and decided to take a trip that following week to see what refining of these precious metals was all about. So, that next week they met at the church early in the morning and headed to the silver smiths. When they got there they were introduced to the owner and he took them on a tour. About 10 minutes into the tour one of the ladies asked, “Sir, can you show us how you refine the precious metals?” The owner then took to the refining area and began to refine some silver. He took the block of silver and put it in a small metal cup with a handle and held it over the fire. He then held it over the blue area of the flame. A lady asked, “Why do you hold it over the blue part of the flame and not the red?” “Ma’am”, he replied, “The blue portion of the flame is the hottest part. It is only in the hottest part of the flame that all the impurities can be purged out.” The silver smith never looked away from the silver or the fire. He was focused. So, after a few minutes of heating the silver and scraping of the impurities another lady asked, “How do you know when the silver is completely pure?” He replied with a grin, “Oh that’s easy! I know it’s done when I can see my reflection in it…”
Refined by fire. Is God holding you over the blue part of the flame? As with this story we know that He will never look away. God has His eyes on us and will always take care of us. It is when He sees His Son in us that we are pure.
Is God refining you?
Aaron
1 comment:
So when is this refining take place, and when is it done?
Post a Comment