Thinking just now about diamonds and pearls. Diamonds shine and pearls glow, but neither the diamond or the pearl make that happen.
In the case of a pearl, a grain of sand gets inside an oyster's shell and because it is a foreign body the oyster produces a substance which covers the grain of sand so that it becomes part of the oyster. Over the years this process creates beauty; it creates a pearl which has a lovely sheen.
In the case of a diamond, it starts its journey as nothing more than a stone, but in the hands of a master craftsman who can see its potential and works to shape its facets it will reflect light and become beautiful.
In the case of a Christian who has experienced spiritual re-birth we are nothing of ourselves but are meant to shine reflecting the love of Jesus.
Like the sand we enter into Him all unformed and 'raw' and it is He who brings about the changes in us so that we become beautiful. And as the Master Craftsman he sees our potential and chips away at us until we shine with His reflected light.
This is not of ourselves, we just need to submit to Him.
In the case of a pearl, a grain of sand gets inside an oyster's shell and because it is a foreign body the oyster produces a substance which covers the grain of sand so that it becomes part of the oyster. Over the years this process creates beauty; it creates a pearl which has a lovely sheen.
In the case of a diamond, it starts its journey as nothing more than a stone, but in the hands of a master craftsman who can see its potential and works to shape its facets it will reflect light and become beautiful.
In the case of a Christian who has experienced spiritual re-birth we are nothing of ourselves but are meant to shine reflecting the love of Jesus.
Like the sand we enter into Him all unformed and 'raw' and it is He who brings about the changes in us so that we become beautiful. And as the Master Craftsman he sees our potential and chips away at us until we shine with His reflected light.
This is not of ourselves, we just need to submit to Him.
