Several of my male friends are undergoing suffering that to my mind seems almost unendurable. Praying and hoping for each of them, that the Father remembers mercy as He shapes my friends into the perfect tools for “such a time as this”.
Some thoughts on the ways of suffering and purification:
An image that has been used to tie suffering to purification can be seen as that of a silversmith carefully tending a chalice of silver ore over a fire. The fire is watched intently by the smith. He increases the heat of the fire in the process of purifying the silver, so that at each level of heat, a particular impurity melts and rises to the surface of the molten silver. That impurity is then scraped away. The smith keeps a close eye on the flames of the fire – too hot will ruin the silver; too cold, and the impurities will not be released so that they can be scraped away. Over and over the heat is increased and the impurities are scraped away. When the silver is pure, the silversmith can see his face reflected in the molten silver in the chalice. Just as the silversmith brings purity through fire, so the Father brings purity in His children by the fire of suffering.
Smithing silver is more of a delicate process of purification – and its product is used for more delicate things – jewelry, fine dishes and bowls and cutlery, silver trumpets….
The forging of steel into tools, on the other hand, is a more brutal process. The blacksmith takes a hunk of steel with tongs or another tool. He thrusts it into the blazing furnace until it is red hot. He pulls it out, lays it on the forge, and pounds it into the shape he desires. He does this over and over refining the tool to be ever closer to the shape needed for its intended purpose. After many times in the red hot fire, and many, many blows with the hammer, the tool is nearly finished. The blacksmith then polishes away the black soot from the surface of the tool. The perfect tool fits well the hand of the one to wield it. It is strong and durable, it does not easily bend under pressure. And most importantly, it has been shaped to perform a specific task, and it does so in the way intended.
God can be likened to a silversmith. He can use the refining process of suffering to transform a person into something of beauty for His particular purposes. He can also be likened to a blacksmith who uses brutal methods to take that which is strong and resistant to change into His perfect tool for the powerful job He intends for it to do.