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03.02.08

4th Sunday in Lent

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

1 SAMULE 16:1-13; EPHESIANS 5:8-14

Rocks or Gems

Rough Diamonds

This morning, each of you were given a small stone as you came into worship

I want you to take it out now and look at it
Examine it closely—notice its shape and its color
Roll it around in your hand and feel its texture

It’s an ordinary piece of gravel, isn’t it?

It’s just a stone like the kind we find in the yard or pick up in the tread of our shoes
It’s a nuisance, isn’t it?—not worth much of anything at all
Or is it?
What’s the chance that the stone you hold in your hand might be a diamond in the rough?

The sparkling, multi-faceted diamonds that adorn our jewelry don’t start out looking that way

When they’re taken out of the ground they look like an ordinary stone
They are dark and they are rough, and they’re not of much value
But in the hands of a skilled craftsman—a master diamond cutter—that ordinary looking rock can be transformed into something of exquisite beauty and exceptional value

B. New Trend in Jewelry

Would you consider taking that stone you hold in your hand and having it crafted into a piece of fine jewelry?

Sound’s ridiculous, doesn’t it?
Yet, that’s the latest trend in the jewelry industry today—not using gravel, of course, but using rough, uncut diamonds
Then again, who could tell the difference?

A lot of people today are paying good money to wear rough diamonds—stones that look like pieces of gravel—and to flash those rocks like they were something special

Rough diamonds—not faceted ones
No flashes of color, no sparkle, no clarity, no quality in the cut
But right now, a lot of people think they’re cool

There’s a company called “Diamond in the Rough” that sells these gems, and De Beers has featured rough diamonds in their Talisman collection

You can now buy rough diamond rings, necklaces and medallions, sometimes at bargain prices since many of these stones aren’t suitable for cutting
You can get a small, rough diamond in a stainless steel ring for $600, or if you want, you can purchase at Tiffany a one-of-a-kind rough diamond and pearl necklace for $750,000
For some, this jewelry is appealing because it’s natural, earthy, and organic

The biggest problem with a rough diamond is that it’s difficult to determine its value

Faceted diamonds are valued based upon cut, color, carat and clarity—the four “c’s” of the American Gemological Institute
But there aren’t any industry standards for evaluating uncut diamonds
Maybe the stone you’re holding is an uncut diamond
How can you tell when you’re looking at a precious gem?

The Diamond In Us All

Finding the Value In Others

That’s the same thing Paul wondered as he looked at the Christians in Ephesus

Ephesus was a large seaport town in Asia Minor, and the Christians there were all Gentile converts, so they had a lot to learn about the Christian faith
Earlier in his letter to them, Paul reminds them that they were one “without Christ,” having no hope and without God in the world (2:12)
And these Ephesian Christians were definitely uncut

For one thing, because they were Gentiles, they were uncircumcised, and considered by the Jews to be far away from God since they weren’t part of God’s chosen people

But faith in Jesus Christ changed all that, for when the gospel message was first preached to the Gentiles and they believed, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them, just as it was upon the Jews
So those who were once far away were now brought near through the blood of Jesus Christ
Through his death on the cross and his resurrection to new life, Jesus destroyed the barriers that divide human beings from one another and separate us from God, giving free access to God to any and all who believe

This is an amazing transformation

These uncut Ephesians, who were diamonds in the rough, now have a relationship with God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
They take their place alongside the Jewish members of God’s family
They are given equal rights in the household of God because they are equally loved by God
“So you are no longer strangers and aliens,” Paul says, “but citizens with the saints, and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” (2:19-20)

Seeing Beyond the Differences

One of the biggest challenges that faced the church in its early days still faces the church today

That is the challenge of welcoming new people into the family of faith and incorporating them into the life of the church, especially if those new people are “different” in some way
When the Gentiles first started coming into the faith, there were many who believed that before they could be admitted to the fellowship of the church, they first had to convert to Judaism
In order to become a Christian, a person had to become a Jew first
The reason for this was that the first Christians were all Jewish
Jesus was a Jew and he came as the Hebrew Messiah
So in order to experience the salvation that Jesus offers, one must first become a Jew
Until the Gentiles began believing, Christianity was just another sect of Judaism

Jews believed they were different from Gentiles because God chose them to be God’s people

To be chosen by God meant to be loved by God
And if God loved the Jews, God must hate those who are not Jews, they reasoned
Therefore, there was no place in the family of God for anyone who was different

Sadly, that attitude has carried over into the church today

We will gladly welcome those who are “like us,” but we are cold and indifferent to those who aren’t “like us”
We want people who are part of our social and economic class, people who have the same skin color and speak the same language as us, people who dress a certain way and talk a certain way and act a certain way
We don’t want the poor, the sick, the needy; we don’t want people who are racially and ethnically different; we don’t want people of questionable moral character or people who live alternative lifestyles
These are the “Gentiles” of our day, and we are “the chosen people of God,” the people God loves

The sad fact is that we so often make these judgments based upon appearances, without taking the time to get to know the person

We thrive on stereotypes and base our judgment of others on them—all African-Americans are criminals, all homosexuals are child molesters, all Middle Easterners are terrorists
We refuse to look for the image of God in people who are unlike us, and we refuse to believe that Jesus is their Savior too
We look at them in the same way we look at the stones in our hands—a useless piece of rock—instead of looking for the beauty and the value that lies within

That’s the lesson God taught to Samuel when God called him to anoint a new king to replace Saul

God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse to anoint the new king from one of Jesse’s sons
With the stereotype of a perfect king firmly in mind, Samuel began to evaluate each of Jesse’s sons
To Samuel’s surprise, God rejected all of the ones Samuel believed fit that stereotype
And the reason was that Samuel was looking at the outward appearance, but God was looking at the heart
In the heart of David, God saw the qualities that would make David a king
David was a diamond in the rough whose true beauty was brought forth as the Spirit of God worked in his life
David was a gem of a king, perhaps the greatest king Israel ever had

Uncovering the Beauty Within

Paul believed that the Ephesians were gems…not gravel

They may have been rough around the edges, but they had real value in the eyes of God
With a little cutting, a little refinement by the Spirit of God, they could “live as children of light”
In the fourth chapter of this letter to them, Paul tells them what needs to be chiseled away so that the gem inside them could reflect the light of God
Such things as falsehood, anger, stealing, unwholesome talk, bitterness, rage, slander, malice, and sexual immorality were marring the beauty of the gem within
And Paul wants the Ephesians to remove all these impurities that kept them from becoming diamonds so they would be able to receive and transmit the light of God

Paul wants the same for each of us because we are all diamonds in the rough

There are actions and attitudes in each of us that block the reflection of the light of God
Think how our lives would be different if we worked to remove the impurities from our lives that Paul identified in the Ephesians
Yet, God still loves us
God sees the sparkling gem hidden within each of us
As the “Master Diamond Cutter,” God works to chisel away the roughness so that we might truly reflect the light of God

Too many of us are satisfied with being a “diamond in the rough”

We even use that as a compliment of sorts
But to say that leaves the impression that there’s still work to be done, that there’s room for improvement
There’s still more cutting, polishing, and shaping that needs to happen in order to become a “gem”

And how often do we say, when we’ve made a mistake, “Well, I’m only human!” as if to justify our actions?

It’s true that we are human, but we were created to be more than only human—we were created in the image of God, created to represent God in the world, created to reflect God’s goodness and love and grace
So there’s still more cutting and polishing and shaping that we need in our life
In order to be more than only human, we must “find out what pleases the Lord,” and do it

The goal of all this work is complete transparency—transparency to the light of God so that we might receive that light into our life and transmit that light into the lives of others

Something that is transparent is something through which light can easily pass without any obstruction
That’s why diamonds are so beautiful
They not only receive light, they transmit light in a beautiful array of color
When we focus on what is good and right and true, we turn from “diamonds in the rough’ into beautiful, brilliant gems
Our compassion and patience and love create a channel for the light of the Lord to shine through

There is potential in each of us—a gem that’s waiting to be cut and polished and refined

We might not see it in ourselves or in others, but it’s there, and God can see it
So God works in our life to chip away all that hides the beauty of who we really are
God chisels away the rough edges so that we can become more like Jesus
God polishes us so that the light of God’s love and grace might reflect from our lives into the lives of others
May we never judge anyone of being unworthy of receiving the light of God’s love and grace

Take your stone home with you and carry it in your pocket or purse

May it always remind you that you are loved by God and that God is working in you to bring out the best in you that you might reflect God’s image to others
May it also remind you that no one is outside the scope of God’s love
Hidden within each of us is the image of God
So may we be slow to judge and quick to love