"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By
no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
(Rom 6:1-2, NIV2)
Diamonds don't just happen. They are formed a hundred miles under terra firma
and are brought up to the earth's surface through volcanic eruptions. What makes
them unique is that they are composed 99.9% of carbon. The pressure they are
going through beneath the earth's surface, as well as the extreme heat, forces
the carbon atoms to bond, turning them into beautiful diamonds. No wonder they
are so expensive!
There are many fake diamonds out there as well, ones that pretend to be the
genuine thing but really are not. How can we distinguish between the real stuff
and the fake ones, especially since they look identical to the naked eye?
There are some steps that can be taken to determine if a diamond is a fake or
the real thing. First of all, diamonds are one of the hardest natural
substances. The only thing that can scratch a real diamond is another diamond.
This is why diamonds are called diamonds, as the original Greek word for it is
"adamas", which means invincible or indestructible. A fake one, on the other
hand, can be scratched by something as innocuous as sandpaper. Fake ones cannot
withstand the pressure of another object!
Another test to distinguish the genuine ones from the fake ones is the fog test.
You can breathe on a diamond, as if trying to fog a mirror. If the "diamond"
remains fogged for two to four seconds, it is a fake. The real one dispenses the
heat evenly.
Some like to use the transparency test, where we flip the diamond upside down on
a piece of newspaper. If we can read the newspaper through the "diamond", it is
a fake!
If we have a sharp magnifying glass we can also look for the sharp facets of the
diamond. If they are rolled instead of sharp, the diamond is a fake!
Naturally there are a few other tests that can be made to distinguish the real
stuff from the fake ones, but these are more for the experts. However there are
lab-created diamonds that contains the same identical structure and physical
properties of real diamonds. A professional would not even be able to tell the
difference without extensive testing using specialized equipment.
The biggest diamond scientists have discovered so far, cannot be found on our
planet. It's a star named Lucy after the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with
Diamonds". It is essentially a diamond of ten billion trillion trillion carats!
Wow! No way could anyone wear that!
Christians, who are worth far more than diamonds in God's eyes, also have
counterfeits. Not everyone who proclaims to be a Christian truly is one. These
are the ones who give Christians a bad name. However, we cannot compare diamonds
with fakes. They are completely different. Those who pretend that sin is OK are
fakes, as no one loving our Lord and Master, Jesus the Christ, would refute His
sacrifice that cost His life so that we could be truly free! "Why, they've
re-crucified Jesus! They've repudiated him in public!" (Heb 6:6b, MSG)
The same is true with "Christians" that proclaim that Jesus' sacrifice was not
enough and that human efforts is a must to obtain heaven! "For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God--not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
Either we have been transformed gradually into God's image or we are reflecting
our true nature: followers of the evil one. There are no other choices. After
all, didn't Jesus say: "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."
(Matthew 7:16-17, NIV)
What kind of fruit are we bearing?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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