More on Diamonds

There are a lot of spiritual lessons to be gleaned from a study of gems.  I don't know a lot, but the things I have learned serve to encourage me in the Lord.  This lump of coal has a loooong way to go!  A gem’s value is determined by several things, the first being its optical properties, how it reflects LIGHT.  Because man looks on the outward appearance, we need the beauty of the Lord Jesus within us to be reflected on our faces!  Do you catch yourself wearing your “unsaved” face?  I do!  We ought to be able to pick a Christian out of a crowd, not by the beauty of her face, but by the beauty of her countenance.  There should be a calmness there, and compassion, and contentment, and confidence.  That is a tough call (and I have not come near victory on that one)!

 

We may think sometimes that we can pick out who the “good” Christians are by external things (we are sooo easily deceived at times, aren’t we?), but a Christian’s value, like a gem’s, is not determined by sight alone.  Gem experts use special instruments to look INSIDE a precious stone, to determine whether it is natural or artificial! There are cheap imitation gems, which are usually made of colored plastic, with silvered backs. In type, that would be the person who pretends to be saved, or else thinks he is, but is deceived. There are also synthetic gems, which are too perfect and have no irregularities at all.  Those artificial gems don't shine quite as nicely as the real thing.  Look at the great men and women of the Bible.  Not one of them is without a major character flaw.  ALL have sinned.  There is no one who is truly saved who does not know he is a sinner, and even after salvation we still have our flaws to deal with! Even the homeschooler who seems to have it all together has a flaw.  (Sometimes it is hard to find those flaws in the blogosphere :o) More on that in a different post.)

 

Our human eyes look only on the outward shine of others. God’s holy eyes look deep into the heart to see if there is anything really valuable or beautiful there. The Bible says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing,” Romans 7:18. But with Jesus Christ dwelling within my heart God no longer sees my sin.  Because he saved me from my sins, I now have the imputed righteousness of Christ!  Not because I am good, but because HE is!! I can pretend to be holy, so that others will think I really have it on the ball with God, but only God can determine whether I really have something beautiful (the Son of God) in my heart.  I thank the Lord for giving his Son to die for me, that I might be found beautiful in his sight.  May he continue his working in my heart, that I would truly reflect his glory.