Refiner's Fire

Malachi 3:2,3
(2) But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when he appears? For He will be like a refiner's fire. (3) He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver . . . "

God is the purifier & He controls the the refiner's fire; He is the creator. Is there more to be understood here?
You betcha!
It helps to find out more about the process of refining by fire. Let's look at a silversmith's work by way of example
In fact, let me tell you a story -- one you may have heard, but as with all good stories it is even finer in the retelling.

A woman read that passage in Malachi and wanted to learn about a silversmith's work to understand this whole "refining with fire" idea better. So she made an appointment with a silversmith to watch him while 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 work, 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 the 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 silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the entire time the silver was being refined.
The man answered, yes, that not only did he have to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on it 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,
"But 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.


Photo credit: William Kirk, silversmith: Photo by Shannon Tofts
Graphics credit: http://www.parkinx.com/fineart/bio.html artist: Jana Winters Parkin