Malachi 3:1-4

Malachi tells us men will come bringing offerings in righteousness and they will be purified like gold or silver.

I read a beautiful short story once entitled The Refiners Touch. The author is unknown but the story is incredibly important.

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi.  As they were studying chapter three they came across verse three which says, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver 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 so 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 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. For 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, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”  He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s the easy part — when I see my image reflected in it.”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image in you. If you’re feeling lost or disheartened, buried beneath heavy burdens, pay attention to where your gaze is. If you’re not keeping your eyes on God the entire time, you may miss your exit from the fire.

Malachi warns us the messenger will not be someone we want to welcome into our lives. The messenger will be as the silver refiner. I imagine this messenger will be delivering a message that will make us very uncomfortable.

My husband is an avid bowler. He practically grew up in a bowling alley. One of the primary goals in his life was to bowl a perfect game. Doug’s mind works differently than mine does. He enjoys activities which have definitive goals, an ability to achieve perfection. Things like Bowling a 300 or hitting a hole in one are right up his alley. Achieving a perfect score.

In theory, when bowling you can throw a perfect ball. There is a moment when the ball leaves your hand that sometimes, if you do it right and your legs, torso, grip and fluidity combine with a timed release that you just know all ten pins are going to fall. Sometimes however, all these things happen and the pins don’t fall. Your stance was good, you followed through and yet… the stone pin stands there mocking you and your humanity.

And then… there’s the messenger. Your steps are off, your arm isn’t straight, you twist your wrist or let go at the wrong time and the ball goes wild. While this is every ball I roll, for someone who has some skill, that’s not the case. For whatever reason, the result is the ball does not go where you want it to, nine pins fall; you hang your head in defeat. Give an exasperated sigh. And then… one loan pins, flies, rolls, wobbles, tips and by some miracle it heads toward the last remaining pin and knocks it down. Maybe the ugliest or most entertaining strike you’ve ever seen but a message has been delivered.

Despite all the planning, all the training, all the hours of practice, you’re not in control. A perfect throw can result in a seven, an off-kilter roll can be a strike.

God’s messengers work a little something like that. When all hope is lost a loan pin set on course by an elaborate series of events can accomplish what a 13-pound rock cannot.

Malachi speaks of us needing to be refined like gold or silver. Maybe God is refining us with trials and tribulations and fire that one day we might shine as a reflection of Him.

When we think of refinement, we have a tendency to think of fancy clothes, crystal glassware, yachts and caviar. But, what if in God’s eyes, refinement is exactly the opposite?

What if in his eyes our bumbling tongue-tied prayers, feeble attempts at being a good person, and general clumsiness when it comes to everything in life are what he wants us to see? What if he doesn’t want us to try and take control of his universe and instead wants us relax and be okay with our view of imperfection?

John the Baptist was but a voice calling in the wilderness. He was dressed poorly even for the time period. Camel hide isn’t exactly chinchilla or mink. He smelled bad. He ate bugs. He was a marble setting out to start a chain of events. He was the messenger. A loan pin wandering the wilderness of the lane until he bumps into Jesus the last pin that needs to fall in God’s perfect plan.

While much of the time we all want to be that last pin to fall. We want to be the defining point by which victory and perfection are measured by, the truth of the matter is we’re probably more like the 4 or 6 pin slightly off-centered and almost always knocked down by even the most inexperienced of bowlers. What we forget though is that if that pin is uncooperative and remains standing when it should fall, a strike is not achieved.

It doesn’t matter which pin remains standing. If all ten don’t go down it isn’t a strike. But for each pin that falls, a point is scored. Our human nature causes us to focus on the beginning and the end but each simple reaction occurring in the middle is just as important. It’s like blaming a single basketball player for losing the game because they missed the final free throw. They didn’t lose the game, the team did, if each and every one of them had played just a little bit better, if any one of them had achieved one more point during the middle of the game, that free throw wouldn’t have mattered.

Your sitting in that pew today means you have a job, you have a calling. Your job is to be a messenger. Your job is not to sit there like a stone in a pew waiting for someone else to do things or to go first. Your job at the very least is to be one more voice calling in the wilderness.

God wants us to shine with all the glory of His creation. He made us in his image, but if we’re not willing to go into the fire to be refined, we’re just a stone pin standing there refusing to let God achieve perfection in humanity. Thankfully, we’re not alone, there are a lot of others out there with us but that does not diminish our importance.

God’s trying to bowl a perfect game. In order for that to happen, every pin has to get knocked down. That means each and every one of us must have the impurities burned out of us that God might see their reflection in us.

May, the Lord bless you and keep you;
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you
And give you peace

Photo taken at Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics in Maria Stein, Ohio.