Sparkling Diamonds
Deutsch
English O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Psalms 144,3 (ESV)
Susan and her friend
If only I hadn’t made an appointment! For days I had been tormented by a state of deep depression. But we had arranged the meeting long ago. As we sat across from each other over a cup of tea, I began dumping my problems. Suddenly Susan interrupted me and said, „You know, I have an idea. We want to visit the diamond cutting workshop.” I looked at her in amazement, but was happy to go with her.
In the Diamond Mill
We were shown exquisite gemstones and explained to us how they came into being in the depths of the earth. It takes hundreds of thousands of years, intense heat and great pressure to create a diamond.
The rough diamond
When diamonds are dug out of the ground, they initially look no more exciting than an ugly lump of rock. Only an expert can tell what kind of diamond it will be hidden in the nugget. What is behind the great effort to bring a diamond in the rough from the depths of the earth?
A diamond is noble, valuable, precious and very expensive
Comparison diamond and human
Man without God is like a diamond in the rough, a lump of stone.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3,23 (ESV)
God’s love for all people knows no bounds. He sent his only son to give his life on the cross. He died for us. Jesus came to us on this earth voluntarily. From top to bottom. He came to look for people. To save them from sin and perdition. To serve you.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19,10 (ESV)
Biblical Examples: Diamond in the Rough – Nugget of Stone: The woman from Samaria, Jesus says to her: You had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband! According to John 4:1-30.
Zacchaeus a tax collector a fraud According to Luke 19:1-10.
Jesus meets them, lifts them out of the depths of sin and takes them into his master hands. God’s love is limitless.
The grinding process
A curious experience shows that the uglier a gemstone is in the ungrind state, the more beautiful it becomes in the skillful hands of a grinder.
A careful, precise grinding makes the diamond a treasure.
The parallel: We also repeatedly go through a grinding process. Disappointment, slander, disrespect, lovelessness. We don’t live in an ideal world. This process is painful. Why? Why? Don’t doubt, despair God sees the end result.
The point of the grinding process is to give the gemstone the right shape, to bring out its true color, so that the light can enter the stone clearly and reflect it back just as pure and bright.
It becomes visible when Jesus is in us and we are in him.
Its clarity, truth, purity, kindness shines through us.
Before a diamond has reached its perfect shape, it has to be cut several times. This is exactly how we must go through painful experience. Joy and sorrow is part of our life.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christs sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 1. Peter 4,12-14 (ESV)
If we face this grinding process with the right attitude, it will refine us internally. We become able to reflect Christ more brightly.
Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Isaiah 43,4 (ESV)
Author: Edith Waechter
Bilder: https://pixabay.com/de/
