The Silversmith

I got this email from my sister. It was so good I wanted to share it. Thanks, Linda

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."
~Author unknown