When a $400 promise of marriage is placed on the finger of some happy young woman, it becomes the most pampered and envied rock on the block. Admirers congratulate its new owner and praise its beauty. Behind the reflective glory of that diamond, however, is a long, hard development. After ages of formation, the stone is uncovered in a South African mine as an unimpressive, dull, roughly shaped mineral. It then comes into the hands of someone who recognizes its potential and knows how to bring out its splendor. Even then the refining isn’t easy. The crude stone is carefully studied, measured, and split. It takes repeated cutting before the craftsman can bring the flaws and discolorations to the surface so they can be polished away.
This perfecting process reminds me of the way God brings our sins to the surface of our consciousness in order to remove them from our lives. He carefully applies pressure just where it’s needed. Never does He break us without purpose. On the contrary, His plan is to increase our value and bring us to glory. By faithfully afflicting us, the psalmist says, God works on our sins of greed, lust, self-sufficiency, and pride. With our eternal joy and benefit in mind, He cuts into those priorities and attitudes that distort our character and reduce our ability to reflect His wisdom and goodness.
It’s up to us to participate with God in this work by yielding to Him. When we do, we will develop a Christlike character and discover firsthand the everlasting value of being cut to perfection. – Martin R. De Haan II
I may not understand, Lord,
But one day I shall see
Thy loving hand was taking pains
To fashion me like Thee. – Anon.
The breaking of the outward man is God’s way of blessing the inward man.
- June 3, 1985, Our Daily Bread
For You 