I'm indebted to the Rt. Rev. Gary Gloster, Episcopalian Bishop Suffragan of North Carolina, and through him to the Rev. Michael Battle, Rector of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Raleigh, for this story.
There was a group of women who were studying the Book of Malachi. As they were studying Chapter 3, they took particular notice of the verse that reads, "He [God] will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." The verse puzzled the women, and they wondered what it meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to go and meet with a silversmith to find out.
During the week she contacted a silversmith and made an appointment to meet him and speak with him about his craft. She did not mention anything about the reason for her visit other than that she had an interest in the process of refining silver.
As she watched the craftsman begin the process, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one of the important steps was to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flame was at its hottest so that impurities would be burned away.
She then asked if he must sit in front of the silver for the entire time the silver was being refined. The craftsman nodded, saying that he not only had to sit there holding the silver in the midst of the fire, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the heat. If the silver were left in the fire even for a moment too long, it would be destroyed.
Then she asked, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image reflected in it."
There was a group of women who were studying the Book of Malachi. As they were studying Chapter 3, they took particular notice of the verse that reads, "He [God] will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." The verse puzzled the women, and they wondered what it meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to go and meet with a silversmith to find out.
During the week she contacted a silversmith and made an appointment to meet him and speak with him about his craft. She did not mention anything about the reason for her visit other than that she had an interest in the process of refining silver.
As she watched the craftsman begin the process, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one of the important steps was to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flame was at its hottest so that impurities would be burned away.
She then asked if he must sit in front of the silver for the entire time the silver was being refined. The craftsman nodded, saying that he not only had to sit there holding the silver in the midst of the fire, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the heat. If the silver were left in the fire even for a moment too long, it would be destroyed.
Then she asked, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image reflected in it."
