the silver & the silversmith

"The silver is crushed into small pieces and placed into a crucible. The silversmith places the crucible over the fire that has been prepared to just the right degree of heat, and then he watches carefully as the silver melts.

Eventually impurities will rise to the top of the crucible. These are scraped off carefully by the silversmith. Then an even hotter fire is built. Once again the silver is subjected to heat. Now, under this new intensity of fire, more and different impurities are released.

The silversmith never leaves the silver unattended in the fire, lest the silver be damaged by too much heat. Each time the fire is increased and the impurities are removed, the silversmith bends over the crucible to look at himself in the melted silver. At first his image is dim...his face barely discernible. However, with each new fire his image becomes more distinct. When he finally sees himself clearly, he knows all the impurities are gone. The refining is complete." -Kay Arthur Lord Heal My Hurts pg. 95-96

We are the silver. He is the silversmith.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body of the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life works in you."
-2 Corinthians 4:7-12