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You Are One Of God’s Jewels
God Is Making His Jewels, and You
Are One of Them!
By Bernard
Hongerloot
When going through
trials, do we first think of asking God to ease the pain or heal us quickly, or
do we ask Him to finish in us what He started?
For our Heavenly Father, the making of the greatest of treasures
is of paramount importance!
For mine superintendent
Frederick Wells, Jan. 26, 1905, ended up to be a day like no other!
The day had started like any
other day of work at the mine. But when a portion of the tunnel wall crumbled,
revealing a glasslike shape unlike any he had mined before, his heart started
pounding.
He just couldn’t believe his
eyes. Thomas Cullinan, his boss, would forever be grateful to him for the fame
to befall him that day.
Thomas Cullinan owned the
Premier Diamond Mining Company of Gauteng, in South Africa. And Frederick Wells
had just unearthed a diamond weighing more than 3,100 carats, that is, more
than a pound or half a kilogram. It is the largest gem diamond ever found.
(Note: A carbonado weighing
3,600 carats was found in Brazil, but it was not made of
gem-quality material.)
The stone was bought by the
Transvaal government and presented to British King Edward VII.
It was cut into three large
parts by the Asscher brothers of Amsterdam, and eventually into 11 large
gem-quality stones, 96 smaller brilliants and 9.5 carats of
unpolished pieces.
Cutting the diamond was
considered difficult and risky. Reports say the brothers studied the diamond
for three months before deciding where to make the first cut.
In order to enable Joseph
Asscher to cut the diamond in one blow, an incision was made, half an inch
deep.
Then, a specially designed
cleaving blade was placed in the incision. Some say the first blade broke!
But eventually the diamond
was split in one heavy blow. The stone split through a defective spot
as planned.
The Cullinan I - also called
the Great Star of Africa - was the largest gem produced from the rough stone.
It is a pear-shaped stone of
a little over 530 carats, and it is the world’s largest cut diamond. It is now
in the head of the royal scepter in the British crown jewels.
The second largest cut
diamond, the Cullinan II - the Lesser Star of
Africa - is a cushion-shaped stone just a little over 317 carats and is set in
the British imperial state crown.
In this physical world of
ours, when one talks of jewels, he or she refers to some very precious,
beautiful, rare and expensive stones, metals or pearls.
It seems God has placed in us
an innate desire to adorn ourselves or surround ourselves with the precious
bounty of the earth in terms of splendid pearls, crystals, gems and metals of
all kinds.
Spiritual Treasure
And
splendor there is!
The Bible speaks of
treasures, of precious stones and of an incredibly beautiful jewel - the new
capital of the world, the New Jerusalem to come down from heaven.
And it speaks of other jewels
as well, so precious and expensive that no amount of money could ever buy them,
because they are spiritual in nature.
They are more precious than
the most valuable bounty of the earth.
The prophet Malachi wrote of
such a spiritual treasure:
“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to
one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was
written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.
‘They shall be mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘On the day that I make them My
jewels’ ” (Malachi
3:16-17).
If we check that passage in a
number of versions, it is expressed in a variety of ways, perhaps indicating
that the translators had a hard time believing what God is actually saying
here. From reading different versions, we discover that God is speaking here of
making His “jewels” or His “special treasure.”
We usually do not think of
ourselves as jewels. Yet that is precisely what God thinks of us! We are His
jewels in the making — we are His special treasure. And I would venture to say
that, in God’s eyes, we are far more precious than the Great Star of Africa—the
Cullinan I! Gems like these run in the multiple millions of dollars. Priceless.
Uninsurable. But how about us? In God’s eyes, we are infinitely
more precious.
Incredible Potential
How
do we see ourselves? It is true that God does not want us to have a high
opinion of ourselves. We are to be clothed with humility.
But we also need to
understand how important our life is to God - the incredible
human potential.
The Bible reveals that God is
making His jewels, and you are one of them!
To grasp that concept is of
the highest importance. Having that in mind as we go through life - especially
trials - is paramount!
We are often asked to pray
for one another in our trials. And indeed we need to.
But we need, as well, to
remember that taking a rough diamond and working with it, grinding it,
polishing it with different abrasives, giving it its final brilliance and
luster, with its many facets, takes time and a lot of grinding!
As any diamond in the rough
that takes a lot of time and work and love, we have been specifically selected,
because -like the Cullinan I - God has made us of “gem-quality material.”
Facets
of Character
Once
a “gem in the rough” is discovered, it takes the “gem masters” a considerable
time and lots of efforts to cut the different facets.
There are many facets to true
Christianity. And God is working in each of us to create in us a unique gem.
And for God - the Master
Gemologist -to smooth the rough edges and polish us and cut the different
facets of His character, it is vital that we feel like gems in His expert
hands.
We have to allow Him to work
in us.
“We also glory in tribulations, knowing
that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and
character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).
As
the writer of Hebrews expressed it, “Let
us run with endurance…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…
Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful;
nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those
who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:1-2, 11).
Asaph came to understand that
the making of a gem requires some abrasions. He wrote:
“For all day long I have been plagued,
and chastened every morning… When I thought how to understand this [he refers
earlier to the apparently good old times the wicked have], it was too painful
for me—until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood
their end…
“Thus my heart was grieved, and I was
vexed in my mind… Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my
right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to
glory” (Psalms 73:14, 16-17, 21, 23-24).
To
glory! That’s our future, our destiny! “The
Spirit [itself] bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and
if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed
we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans
8:16-17).
Now
the gems of God’s special treasure are being worked on. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (verse 18).
Do we
let God finish His jewels, or do we insist on our own designs? We should
remember that “all things work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His
purpose” (verse 28).
Several Facets of
God’s Gems
In
the spiritual gems God is working on, some facets are compulsory.
We
won’t be allowed in His Kingdom without them for the simple reason that our God
will not have another Satan in His glorious realm.
When we are going through
trials, do we remember that we have to be poor in spirit, to mourn the terrible
degeneracy of the present evil world, to be meek, to literally hunger and
thirst for righteousness, be merciful, be pure in heart, be peacemakers and not
warmongers, rejoice in persecutions, be the salt of the earth, the light of the
world? (Matthew 5:3-16)
How
about those facets of the “fruit of the
Spirit?” (Galatians 5:22)
Neither can we live eternally
without them! Do we work on these? Do we allow the Master Gemologist to work
on us?
How about adding to our faith
virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control
perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness and to
brotherly kindness love (2 Peter 1:2-8)?
We
are being created in God’s spiritual image. “We
are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
When
God’s special treasure is finished, our Savior “will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious
body” (Philippians 3:21).
Never lose track of that when
you are going through trials.
What Malachi prophesied is
now happening. We now are God’s. Today is the day the Master Jeweler is making
His jewels, and you are one of them! UN
The author works as
translator for UCG’s
French publications.
––––
The
Master Refiner
Not
only is God the Master Diamond and Gem Cutter, but He is also the Master
Refiner.
The
prophet Malachi also uses that analogy. Speaking of Christ’s return, he says, “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of
silver” (Malachi 3:3).
That’s what God does to us,
His very special treasure. He refines us.
Consider some lessons from
the silversmith.
1. During the silver refining process, the
silver has to be put in the middle of the fire where the flames are hottest to
take away all impurities.
Peter
talks of our loving God who has begotten us again “ ... to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not
fade away, reserved in heaven for you… In this you greatly rejoice, though now
for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that
the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that
perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory
at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:4, 6-7).
In order for God to remove
all impurities in us, He has to put us in the middle of the fire—so to
speak—where the flames are hottest. Remember, God is making His precious
treasure, and that is what it takes to be refined! What else?
2. During the silver refining process, the
silver must not be left too long in the fire.
Paul
writes: “No temptation has overtaken you
except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to
be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the
way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1
Corinthians 10:13).
As
with the silver, God always makes sure that we are not in the heat too long.
He
lovingly watches over us. He doesn’t rejoice in our sufferings. He would rather
avoid them. But He knows that they are necessary.
3. Moreover, in the refining process, the
silver is fully refined when the silversmith sees his image in it!
As it
says in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we
all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the
Spirit of the Lord.”
When God sees us now, does He
see His reflection? Does He see His image? Only in part.
If we’re still being refined,
it’s because the Master Silversmith is still at work. And what an honor that
is!
I know it hurts. We all hurt
to different degrees.
Some of us are going through
very heavy physical or mental or spiritual trials.
But God is making in us
something that neither Satan nor his demons will ever be. Do we
realize that?
Do we see ourselves as God’s
special treasure or His jewels?
It
certainly was what Peter had in mind when he wrote: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
His own special people.” In other words, God’s very special treasure (1
Peter 2:9).
