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A Jewel Or A Pebble?, April 26
In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my
servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet:
for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.
Haggai 2:23
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Christians are Christ’s jewels. They are to shine brightly for Him, shedding
forth the light of His loveliness. Their luster depends on the polishing they receive.
They may choose to be polished or to remain unpolished. But everyone who is
pronounced worthy of a place in the Lord’s temple must submit to the polishing
process. Without the polishing that the Lord gives they can reflect no more light
than a common pebble.
Christ says to man, “You are mine. I have bought you. You are now only a
rough stone, but if you will place yourself in my hands, I will polish you, and
the luster with which you shall shine will bring honor to My name. No man
shall pluck you out of My hand. I will make you My peculiar treasure. On My
coronation day, you will be a jewel in My crown of rejoicing.”
The divine Worker spends little time on worthless material. Only the precious
jewels does He polish after the similitude of a palace, cutting away all the rough
edges. This process is severe and trying; it hurts human pride. Christ cuts deep
into the experience that man in his self-sufficiency has regarded as complete, and
takes away self-uplifting from the character. He cuts away the surplus surface,
and putting the stone to the polishing wheel, presses it close, that all roughness
may be worn away. Then, holding the jewel up to the light, the Master sees in
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it a reflection of Himself, and He pronounces it worthy of a place in His casket.
“In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee,... and will make thee as a
signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.” Blessed be the experience,
however severe, that gives new value to the stone, and causes it to shine with living
brightness.
God will not suffer one of His truehearted workers to be left alone to struggle
against great odds and be overcome. He preserves as a precious jewel every one
whose life is hid with Christ in God.
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