From Chuck Swindoll’s ‘Come Before Winter”…

During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government began to run low on silver for coins. Lord Cromwell sent his men on an investigation of the local cathedral to see if they could find any precious metal there.

After investigating, they reported: “The only silver we could find is the statues of the saints standing in the corners.”

Cromwell replied, “Good, we’ll melt down the saints and put them into circulation.”

Not bad theology.

In just a few words, Cromwell’s command states the practical goal of authentic Christianity.

Not rows of silver saints, highly polished, frequently dusted, and crammed into the corners of elegant cathedrals. Not plaster people cloaked in thin layers of untarnished silver and topped with a metallic halo.

But real persons – “melted saints” – circulating through the mainstream of humanity, bringing worth and value down where life transpires. Without the faint aura of stained glass, and the familiar comforts of padded pews and dimmed lights.

It’s easy to kid ourselves. Very easy. The Christian must guard against self-deception. We can begin to consider ourselves martyrs simply because we are in church on Sunday, investing a few hours on the “day of rest.”

Listen, my friend, being among the saints is no sacrifice; it’s a privilege. The “cost” of our devotion to Jesus occurs on Monday, Tuesday, and the rest of the week.

That’s when we’re melted down and put into circulation.

Wow. “Selah” – pause and think about that.

Most Christians are familiar with Matthew’s story of “the mount of Jesus’ transfiguration.” I stood close to the site where that took place when I visited Israel in 2025.

What most Christians miss, though, is what Matthew records next: after coming down from the mountain the following verses record Jesus encountering a young boy possessed by a demon, which Jesus promptly cast out. (see Matthew 17:1-20)

Jesus could’ve stayed on the mountain i.e. a “polished saint” safe in his “cathedral”. He didn’t. He returned to the crowds because that’s why he came.

He was “melted down”, becoming human to be a friend to the lonely, a comfort to the anxious, an encourager to the discouraged, a source of hope to the hopeless, a “true north” to those who’d lost their way, and salvation to the lost. 

In his classic, My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers offered commentary on the above passage in Matthew 17,…

“Peter thought it would be a wonderful thing for them to remain on the mountain, but Jesus Christ took the disciples down from the mountain and into the valley.

We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there.

But God will never allow us to stay there.

The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain.

If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley.

We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life—those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration.

We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength.

Jesus could’ve stayed on the “mountain tops.” He didn’t. May we live by the example he lived for us. For Jesus commanded,…

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

nw

 

 

the pain, the difficulties, the stress, the relationships