Diamond In The Rough - 2/10/06

Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

I heard a song on the radio this morning whose lyrics caught my attention. The chorus basically stated, "I'm going to shine for you" in reference to Jesus. For some reason that made me think of diamonds, which also shine. I think Christians are a lot like diamonds. This verse above states that believers are the light of the world. But like diamonds, we do not produce our own light -- we merely reflect the source.

And like diamonds, we were not always so useful. Diamonds are originally coal, well-designed to burn and give off angry red heat. But with pressure and time, the coal is transformed into something more precious and useful. Similarly, we are transformed in Christ. When we believe, we become a new creation. A new creation, but raw and rough. We need to be shaped. We need to be cut. We have unsightly inclusions -- parts of our former selves we apparently could not let go of or wouldn't allow change to effect. But, the more we are cut, chiseled, shaped, ground, and polished, the more light we reflect. Is this an enjoyable process? Not usually. No more enjoyable than being disciplined by a loving parent, but it needs to be done. And the end result is more than worth it.

Luckily, we have a creator who is able to look at a dusty piece of black coal and see it, love it even for its full potential. He takes the effort to select each piece, transforming it and then taking the time to perfect it, cutting away dark inclusions that absorb light. When His work is finished, we are jewels fit to be included in His finest craftsmanship, but not before we shine against other coals. After all, that's what we Christians still are -- we're just pretty coal. Our origins have not changed, but our future has. And before we take the final step to enter that future, we can reflect His light against the dark shadows of piles of coal so that they may believe in His glory and become transformed under the weight of His love and majesty, ready then to be perfected in His hands.