Two Diamond Tales

December 29, 2021

 Amazing Grace:

Meditations on God’s Smile of Affection for You

Two Diamond Tales

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!”

Matthew 13: 45-46

Anthony DeMello tells of a sojourner who, upon reaching the outskirts of a village, settled down under a tree for the night. Suddenly a villager came running up to him and said, “The stone! The stone! Give me the precious stone!”

“What stone?” asked the sojourner. “Last night the Lord appeared to me in a dream,” said the villager, “and told me that if I went to the outskirts of the village at dusk, I should find a sojourner who would give me a precious stone that would make me rich forever.” The sojourner rummaged in his bag and pulled out a stone. “He probably meant this one,” he said, as he handed the stone over to the villager. “I found it on a forest path some days ago. You can certainly have it.”

The villager gazed at the stone in wonder. It was a diamond; probably the largest diamond in the whole world, for it was as large as a person’s head. He took the diamond and walked away. All night he tossed about in bed, unable to sleep. The next day at the crack of dawn he returned to the sojourner and said, “Please kind sir, give me the wealth that makes it so easy for you to give this diamond away.” (Anthony De Mello, The Song of the Bird)

What was the sojourner’s wealth?

Imagine you wanted to determine the value of a precious stone, perhaps a diamond. You can take your stone to a jeweler, who will examine and weigh your diamond. The jeweler uses a scale with two trays suspended from a balance rod, so that when there is equal weight on each tray, the rod balances perfectly. He places the diamond on one tray and then adds weight to the other tray until they balance.

Imagine you are that diamond. How can your value be determined? You, the diamond, are on one tray. On the other tray place all your accomplishments. Add recommendations you receive from your family and friends, your education and business success, and your participation in the programs and ministries of your church. After you have placed all you can think of on the tray, you notice that the scale has not moved. The tray with all your fame and accomplishments has failed to move your tray at all.

So you ask God for a little help; after all, He knows everything. Because God knows that value can be determined by what you are willing to pay for something, He asks you to remove all the things you had placed in the tray representing your value. Then God places Jesus in that tray, and the scales balance perfectly. You are worth Jesus! Your value to God is the same value that God places on Jesus because God gave Jesus for you: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

My Takeaway: Again, paraphrasing Brennan Manning: Do you honestly believe that God loved you so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that you, by believing in him, will not perish but have eternal life? If you could answer, "Yes and Amen," there would come a relaxedness, a serenity, and a compassionate attitude toward yourself that reflects God’s own tenderness.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.