WE ARE HIS SPARKLING GEMS

by Tammy Phillips
May 30, 2020

You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house. -1 Peter 2:5 NKJV

We are like diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies in the rough.  When the rough stones are brought to the light, they do not look all that special.  However, they are created for greatness.  Once found, they are placed in the hands of a gem cutter and transformed into sparkling gems.  Look at these fascinating facts about sapphires and emeralds.  Through the comparisons, see how we are built up into living stones in the house of God.

SAPPHIRES:

• Second in popularity to the diamond
• Treasured gemstones due to rich blue color and rarity
• Prized because of sparkle (THAT’S YOU!), durability, hardness, and endurance
• Formed during transformation of igneous rock
• Formed during changes of intense pressure and heat.
• Inclusions and impurities often occur during formation
• Inclusions give each sapphire a unique look, almost like a fingerprint.
• No two will ever look exactly the same.
• Formed 6 to 18 miles underneath the surface of the earth.
• Weathering, water, streams and rivers wash away debris and through the natural movements of the earth’s surfaces expose these sapphire deposits
• Heat treatments improve and intensify color

LIKE SAPPHIRES:

• We are treasured gems to our Father. (Malachi 3:17)
• We are his prized possessions. (Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2, James 1:18)
• We are made to be strong and endure. (Matthew 24:14, Ephesians 6:10, 2 Timothy 2:3)
• We are transformed. (2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 12:2)
• We are unique like each sapphire created. (Psalm 139:13-14). “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, [and] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” (Psalm 139:15)
• Our imperfections make us into the people we are called to be.
• And, by the washing of the word, we are sanctified, set apart and cleansed for His use. (Ephesians 5:26)
• We are made to reflect His glory. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. (Isaiah 60:1)

EMERALDS:

• Rarest and most highly valued gemstone (apart from diamonds)
• Soft, only rank 7.5 on the Mohs scale
• Can break under high pressure or exposure to high heat
• Many inclusions occur during natural growth process
• Purer and more vivid deep green the color, the higher the value
• Round emeralds improve the refractive quality, giving it more sparkle
• Formed under right high temperature and pressure
• Formed in metamorphic rocks and volcanic deposits
• Formed in fractures and cracks in large areas of granite rock.
• Mined in pits.
• Treated with heat and oil to improve appearance:-Oil treatments improve the luster, brilliance and color, as well as the health and structure of the emerald

-Oil treatments are intended to repair fractures.
-During the oil treatment, emeralds are soaked in hot cedar oil.
-Oil soaks into cracks and fractures and solidifies.
-Oil reduces the clarity of inclusions.

LIKE EMERALDS

• We are far more valuable than rubies. (Proverbs 31:10)
• We are soft hearted. (Ezekiel 36:26)
• We all have inclusions, sin, that should not be in our life. (Romans 3:23)
• We are precious to God. (Isaiah 13:12, I Peter 3:4)
• Round emeralds, like myself, are more refractive and sparkle. We have more surface area and facets for Light to be scattered and fractured. (John 8:12)
• Our character is formed under pressure, in eruptive circumstance, and through enduring tight situations. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
• We are mined in the pits. “He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings. (Psalm 40:2 KJV) We are called out of the darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
• We are anointed. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, [is] God; (2 Corinthians 1:21 KJV)
• We are made complete. Our brokenness and fractures are repaired through Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:10)
• We are healed and the ugliness of our iniquity and inclusion disappear in Him. (Hebrews 8:12)

I enCOURAGE you, Sparkling Gem, to remember how valuable you are to our Heavenly Father.  Arise and shine!  Reflect the glory of our soon and coming King.  He has pulled you out of the pit for greatness. You are His Sparkling Gem. You are called to build up His name and His house by encouraging others to follow Christ.