In the Hottest Forges

Many Magic cards have flavor text, which is a few words or sentences written in italics at the bottom of the card’s text box. This flavor text doesn’t usually affect the game at all; it’s just there to make the cards more interesting and to give the players a glimpse into the world of magic. When it appears on a creature card, the flavor text usually either describes the creature or is a quote from the creature. In the case of one of my favorite creatures in my new Ally Deck, Resolute Blademaster, I’m not sure whether the flavor text is a quote from or about the creature. Either way, it’s worth sharing.

“Great steel is born in the hottest forges. Great soldiers are born in war.”

In my opinion, Resolute Blademaster is a great soldier, and from what I know about him, this sounds like something he might say.

I don’t know much about metal, and I know even less about real war, but I feel like I know a little bit about spiritual war and about the symbolism of the refiner’s fire. The basic idea is that we must be refined to remove our impurities. As with metal, the fewer impurities we have, the stronger we will be. Unfortunately, the refining process is not always pleasant; in fact, it’s usually uncomfortable or even painful, like being in a hot forge. I’m not sure if there’s a link between how hot a forge is and how pure the refined metal gets, but I do know that difficult trials can strengthen us, and just like a difficult workout, the tougher our challenges are, the greater strength we can gain from them.

God often throws difficult challenges at His us because He knows that they can make us stronger against temptation and more committed to becoming and remaining pure. To His toughest soldiers, He gives His hardest battles, because He knows they’re up to the challenge and that taking on that level of challenge will help them grow even more. As we grow stronger, God will give us harder challenges, hoping to purify and strengthen us until we become as pure and as strong as His is. So, let’s try not to resent being challenged or afflicted. God wouldn’t give us hardships if it wasn’t for our gain. Instead, let us strive to use our challenges to help us become the great soldiers God knows we can be. You can’t make a sword without subjecting it to insufferable heat, beating it with a hammer, and grinding it against a rough stone. Maybe God can’t make gods out of us unless He puts us through a similar process.