‘The Fire’ poem

The Fire He sat by the fire of seven-fold heat, As He watched by the precious ore, And closer He bent with a searching gaze As He heated it more and more. He knew He had ore that could stand the test, And He wanted the finest gold To mould as a crown for the King to wear, Set with gems with a price untold.   So He laid our gold in the burning fire, Tho’ we fain would have said Him “Nay,” And He watched the dross that we had not seen, And it melted and passed away. And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright, But our eyes were so dim with tears, We saw but the fire – not the Master’s hand, And questioned with anxious fears.   Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow, As it mirrored a Form above, That bent o’er the fire, tho’ unseen by us, With a look of ineffable love. Can we think that it pleases His loving heart To cause us a moment’s pain? Ah, no! but He saw through the present cross The bliss of eternal gain.   So He waited there with a watchful eye, With a love that is strong and sure, And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat, Than was needed to make it pure.   [Author unknown – extract from ‘Streams in the Desert’, L.B.Cowman]