Forged in Fire

Forged in Fire is an American reality show where four bladesmiths compete against each other in a three-round elimination challenge. Their blades are tested for sharpness, beauty, and durability. Watching it, I learned that fire and water make or break a person’s weapon. If the smith overheats it, the metal can become fragile; if not heated enough, it wouldn’t be flexible. Similarly, if it was cooled with water or oil untimely, it could form cracks or weaken. Bladesmiths who pay careful attention to these details win the competition.

God is a careful and caring smith who works with a material much more fragile than gold – believer’s faith. He knows how to fire their faith with trials and cool them with resting periods so that their faith is sharp, beautiful, and durable.

Peter explained this to his audience:

“In this hope of salvation . . . you are rejoicing a little and struggling through intense persecution. These happen so that the quality of your faith – much more precious than perishable gold – may be tested through fire and be found glorious and precious before him, at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet 1:6–7)

Joy and struggle were like fire and water – at the right portions and time, they strengthened, and at the wrong positions and time, they weakened. Since God was the smith and knew how much joy and struggle to apply to a person’s faith, they were guaranteed to be found glorious and precious before him and Christ.

Peter used a rare word for “joy” or “rejoicing here” – ayalliao. It’s a sound people make in the middle east and Africa during the death of a person or in a religious ceremony, an intense joy/sadness with loud and oscillating voices. In ancient days, people of every faith made this sound as they worshipped their deity. Similarly, Peter’s audience uttered these sounds of joy at various times in their lives the Hebrew.

Other times, however, they endured intense pirasmos, a verb that can mean “test” or “tempt” since the line between them is very thin. When Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph, it also tested his faith. Similarly, when Peter’s audiences were tested, if they weren’t careful, it could become a temptation. But if they understood it as a test and persevered, it would purify them.

Further, it would present their faith as glorious (doxa) and precious (timi). “Doxology” comes from doxa (especially referring to God’s glory), and timi is the root of Timothy or timi-theos (timi “precious” theos “to God”). Just as God was glorious and received honor, the Hebrew Christians’ faith would be glorious and precious/honorable when they withstood their testing.

It would be more precious than gold since it wouldn’t destroy like gold. Gold is a soft metal. 24-karat gold can’t even be turned into jewelry because of its fragility, so goldsmiths add other materials to make it strong. Goldsmiths must work carefully with gold because of its destructibility. Not so the faith of Peter’s audience. It was indestructible, and the master faith-smith, God, would test it with enough fire and water to make it pure and stronger, glorious and precious.

Our faith can become strong or weak depending on what we think of our faith-smith, God. If we think he is evil and wants to hurt us, our faith weakens in times of trials. But if we believe he is good, even in our trials, we know he is fixing us, removing the dirt, and making us shine in his presence.