Alyza Burdeos COM 81

BMC IV Thematic Paper

Submitting to the Refiners Fire

This years Silliman University Founders Day theme, Submitting to the

Refiners Fire is derived from the texts of Malachi 3:1-4 For He will be like a refiners

fire and refine them all like gold and silver, and 1 Peter 1:6-7 which says, In this you

greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds

of trials. These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes

even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and

honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Both of the texts somehow suggest a message of

hope after experiencing suffering, and convey the knowledge of the transformation or

renewal of life after pain and suffering.

During the process of refining gold and silver, it is known that gold or silver is

initially put in a container and exposed to strong heat. While in the heat, it melts and its

impurities along with it, and it then can shed off to leave a beautiful, well-refined piece of

beauty. This procedure continues to as many times as possible to increase its quality and

purity.

It is in a similar way of God in His process of refining His church. When we walk

through lifes hardships, full of sorrow and struggle, it would seem that the Lord is doing
a refining work in all of us. These times call for our submission and surrender as He

decides the time for us to be subjected to the fire and melt all the impurities and mold us

into the purified beings that He made us to be. He has to eliminate every bad element

stopping us from going to Him and being with Him.

However, this process is not the easiest thing to go through. As we are put on the

fire, all our sufferings and distresses are heightened, and sometimes it very tiring and

intolerable. So much so that we lose faith with God and question all His plans for us. But

just as we decide that we want it over, things often get worse then they already are.

Therefore it is necessary to surrender ones self and trust in Gods way whenever we are

faced with trials in life. Whenever we submit ourselves to God, no matter how difficult

the struggle is, you will helped and you will be able to survive

Many themes have been used for the past 113 Founders Week celebrations in

Silliman University, and the celebration has always been centered on theme the Founders

Week Committee has chosen for that year. This year, it has been no different. However,

what still continues to occur year after year after year is the inconsistency of the Founders

Week theme and the activities prepared during the Founders Week celebration.

According to Pastor Mark Augusto, especially in relation to the activities prepared by the

student government, there is no relevance. More often than not, the only place you can

find relevance between the theme and the activities are in events involving the SU

Church. As to the activities of the church all worship services were geared toward

explain and educate the people hat it means to submit to the refiners fire
 Moreover, Assistant Professor Jeneath Faller from the Divinity school explains,

Every year, ganoon naman eh. Kanya-kanya nang activity. We have different activities

and sometimes we don't care about the theme. That's the reality. We have this theme but

often times this theme is only discussed or talked about in the sermon during the

Founders Day Sunday service, and during the Sunrise Service Sunday. Moreover,

Tinagan further explained that the theme chosen for the Founders Week celebration

should not be relevant to the activities during the celebration, but instead, all activities

should be in line with the theme. If there were activities that were not inline with the

theme, it was probably because the theme was not understood. Tinagan added, The

theme should be our guide in our activities. When you are one with the theme, you have

one direction

Overall, the Founders Week celebration of activities may not have been centered

on the theme but this teaches us to be sensitive to becoming more rounded individuals,

taking into consideration the spiritual and social aspect of everything we do. In fact, the 5

Cs of Silliman reflect this notion with its goal of building competence, character and

faith. It is through interaction of experiences in the classroom, the Church, the cultural

center, the court, and the community can we truly be whole spiritually and socially.