Silver Cross
Silver Cross
A black shirt with a silver cross blazoned on the front. A young man with a story to tell.
Silver has been valued for centuries. Making pure silver is a refining process. Silver is often found in lead ores. The ore is extracted and crushed, then heated to a high temperature in a furnace. Quartz is added to form a mobile slag, separating impurities from the molten metal. This process produces an alloy of lead and silver, still containing significant amounts of lead.
To separate the lead from the silver, ancient metallurgists employed cupellation. Lead readily oxidizes when exposed to oxygen at high temperatures. Silver is a noble metal because it resists oxidation, remaining unchanged where more reactive metals are destroyed.
In cupellation, the lead–silver alloy is placed on an ash hearth or into a porous container called a cupel, often made from clay and bone ash.
The alloy is heated to temperatures above 890–960 °C in a well‑oxygenated atmosphere. Bellows were used in ancient times—and are often still used today—to increase ventilation and intensify the heat of the flame.
Under these conditions, lead oxidizes to form litharge (PbO). The molten lead oxide is absorbed by the ash or drained from the furnace, leaving behind pure metallic silver.
This process demands constant vigilance. The alloy must remain in the hottest part of the fire so all of the lead can be drawn away. If it is removed too early, lead remains. If it is extracted too late, the silver is lost.
The metallurgist maintains constant focus on the metal and at the precise moment he sees his reflection on the surface he knows the silver is pure. At that moment he extracts the pure silver.
In your youth, you were permeated by forces beyond your control. You suffered at the hands of those who were meant to protect you.
Like the lead that binds with silver, your suffering became wounds that obscured the man God created you to be.
The infinite, incomprehensible Creator God of the universe saw you suffer. He felt your anguish. He sat with you as you endured the heat.
The One who created you became your Savior.
He watched as your pain and wounds ebbed away. When His work was complete, He withdrew you from the furnace, led you to a place of safety and rest, and surrounded you with four friends who love you.
God created you to be silver—pure and noble. The fire of adversity could not destroy what He created.
A black shirt with a silver cross blazoned on the front. A young man with a story to tell. A young man of silver. A young man who reflects the glory of God.
Malachi 3:2–3
