I received an email with this story in it today, and thought I'd share it with all of you.
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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.'
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What a beautiful picture this was to me--that God will not turn away His eyes until He sees His image in me.
...His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me...
We had a guest speaker in town this weekend, and I went to a talk he gave last night. It was on the destruction and demoralization that is taking place on university campuses, and how we can help to prepare the younger generation to be over-comers in Christ.
At one point he spoke about the importance of learning to love and fear God. He told a story of once when he was talking to some young people about the love/fear of God. He asked them, "Would you drive at 100 miles an hour on the highway?" The answer was a resounding no. When he asked them why not, one answer was "I'd be afraid of killing someone." Another was, "I wouldn't want to get a ticket."
"So," he said "you might love to drive fast, but your fear of getting a ticket or killing someone would keep you from doing it." He went on to show them how every decision they make is based on love and/or fear.
After telling this story, he told us how important this discovery had been to his survival as a Christian. And he challenged us to pass this on to the younger generations in order that they would be prepared to face the world--and stay strong in their faith.
This morning as I read the email I had shared above, it reminded me that I need to learn more about God. I need to continue to learn about Him so I can truly understand not only the love, but the fear of God. I have always understood that these two, love and fear, must both be present in my relationship with God. But I think that our present Christian society has forgotten about the fear of God...and I too easily follow suit. It is easy to become so concerned with the love of God, that we forget to fear Him.
I find the picture of God sitting as our refiner truly beautiful. But it is not a soft beauty, it is a strong beauty that fills my heart with the love--and fear of God.
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