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April 2009 Volume 4 Issue 4 |
Harbor Covenant Church, Gig Harbor WA |
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In this Issue
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GUEST COLUMN
In His Image By Don C. Olson
Recently, we sang a song in Sunday service entitled, “Refine Me” with the verse, “come with your fire and refine us”. It brought to mind a story I came across in the Koinonia House Newsletter that I’d like to re-tell because it is one of those wonderful little stories which illuminates God’s work in us.
The story starts with a Bible study group. The group was working on Malachi and were puzzled over verse 3:3 where it is written, He (God) will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. The group wondered what the verse tells us about the character and nature of God. One woman in the group offered to research the verse by learning more about the process of refining silver. Who better to use as a resource than a silversmith? So, she made an appointment with a silversmith to observe his work, without telling him her purpose.
She watched as the silversmith placed a piece of silver into the fire. He explained that it was necessary to hold the silver in the center of the fire where the hot flames will burn away all of the impurities. It brought to the woman’s mind the possibility that God also holds us in such a hot spot. She asked the silversmith if he had to keep an eye on the silver during this refining process. He replied that he had to watch the silver during the entire time it was in the fire. If it were left in the fire even a moment too long, it would be destroyed. That brought another question to the woman’s mind – “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”
The silversmith smiled with an answer, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s done when I see my image in it.”
This is a story to remember when we feel the heat of that fire. We should also remember that when we live our lives with the purpose of glorifying Him, the invisible God becomes visible in us for all to see.
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Guest Column * * * Each month, the members and friends of Harbor Covenant have the opportunity to share thoughts and experiences from their life of faith.
Our guest
contributor for this month is:
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~ ~ ~ Harbor Covenant Church 5601 Gustafson Drive NW Gig Harbor Washington 98335 253 851 8858 |
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