Gold ore is pretty ugly. It’s just a lump of black rock with the odd sparkly bit.

To extract the pure gold, you need to put the ore  a fire.

The heat separates the various elements, leaving the gold in pure form.

The same process applies to people.

We’re all a messy lump of stuff.

There is only one way to find out what is inside the mess:

Go through the fire.

At the other end you will know what you have (or don’t have).

Don’t fear the fire.

Better to know sooner than later whether you have gold in you.