At church today we spoke of adversity and how, if we allow, it can shape us into better people and into true disciples of Christ.
I am reminded of a few scriptures.
The first comes from Malachi 3: 2-3. It talks about those who will see Christ when he comes again.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
The second is from 1 Nephi 20: 10
10 For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
When I heard the term “refiner’s fire”, I thought of a show that I had seen recently on cable about the process used to create a Japanese Katana. This clip below hits the highlights of the show.
As you can see, the swordmaster starts with the purest of iron ore. The ore is refined for about three days in fire. The ore is then delivered to the swordmaster who carefully chooses the pieces to create the sword. He begins the process by melting the pieces of iron ore together using extreme heat (about 2372 degrees Fahrenheit). The process continues by heating and beating the steel, this removes impurities from the steel.
When the process is finished, the swordmaster will have created one of the finest and sharpest swords in all of the world.
When we encounter the fires of adversity in this life, we are purified as is the steel is in the refiner’s fire.
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