Finally Diamonds

I don’t know whether or not this is true (even if it isn’t true, it makes for a great spiritual application), but I have heard that diamonds are really very plentiful, and that they are, in fact, almost of no value.  However, since the diamond cartels control not only the pricing of diamonds, but also their availability, most people consider diamonds to be very precious. Some people (not me!) would pay many thousands of dollars for just one.  Isn’t it the same way with souls?  They are very plentiful. Common. We humans tend to put one another on a pedestal, and we esteem our humanity to be really something. Yet God knows that in our lost state, our value is nothing.  In spite of that fact, because we are of great worth to him, he gave the thing most precious to him, the sinless blood of his only Son, to purchase you and me from the kingdom of darkness. God knows that the soul of a lost man has great potential in his own kingdom. To him, that soul (my soul!) was worth all the suffering of Jesus Christ, and worth every drop of blood that ran from his wounded body. What price, redemption!

For several posts (here, here, here, and here)I have dwelt on gems and the factors that determine their value. The final consideration is skill of the craftsman who cuts and polishes the stone.  He must decide what shape will best show off the stone’s beauty, and he must cut it with precision.  His cuts are placed where they will best reveal the glory of the stone, which in turn reveals the glory of the craftsman. He then shapes the stone on an abrasive wheel. Afterwards he buffs it to a high polish.  Then he places the stone in the setting that pleases him most. Our master craftsman is God himself!  Psalm 139, “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well.  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”  Just like a diamond!  The Master Craftsman found this rough sinner and began to make me into a jewel for his own crown.  Only he found me worth cutting and polishing; only he knows how much I could stand. He is not finished in a day.  It is a long process.  He has a final shape in mind, and all the while he has the most wonderful setting in mind for this gem -- the one that will best show off not only his skill, but his glorious reflection! Wow, can I possibly remember that each circumstance in my life is exactly where he wants me?!

 The transformation from carbon to diamond, from ugly and black inside to beautiful, brilliant, and valuable, is possible for every soul who will be “found” by Jesus Christ. When you are tired of walking in darkness, lost in sin, he will take you just as you are. But he will not let you stay that way.  His desire is to make you come forth as gold. Trust him first with your soul, and after that, yield yourself to him in each detail of your life. Like me, you are a diamond in the rough. God’s desire to make us precious in his own sight!