You are His Precious Gem

And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
- I Peter 2:5

Sophie eagerly searches for the gemstone she had worked on in Science lab but does not find it in her backpack or in the car.  “Yikes!” I think.  “Is that what I threw out yesterday along with the small plastic bag?” I sigh.  I was in some serious trouble.  I instinctively tell her not to worry and assure her I will look for it.  I rush home, run in the house and charge for the garbage bin; Tachu (my husband) and Arianne look at me like I’m crazy.  I search and search to no avail.  Banana peel, ewe; red sauce, yuck; wet napkins, disgusting; egg shells, double yuck!  As I do this I really regret not wearing gloves– by now it’s too late.  I’m in this yuck and have to keep going.

At this point my husband comes over and gently taps my shoulder and helps me move the bag around.  Finally… there it is, stuck to a piece of garbage.  I am elated to find it.  This tiny piece of amber, though germ-infested, is the most precious gemstone I could find.  This means Sophie’s happiness and not having to see the disappointment in her eyes when I tell her I threw it out.  We wash the amber Sophie so carefully polished.  There’s no way this gemstone will be traced back to that filth!

As I was driving on the highway several days later, the thought of me going through the garbage bin came to me again.  I thought about Jesus and how He searches endlessly for you and me. He doesn’t care that we are sin-infested or difficult to find.  He searches through our darkest places, the most sinful parts of our lives.  He digs through our mess and offers to pull us out.  When we finally let Him, He holds us in His hands; He washes us clean and leaves no evidence of filth from our past.  Each one of us is so precious to Him that He does it time and time again.  There are no limits to His love for us.  He continues to polish us to make us more like Him.

Is Jesus pursuing you today?  Are you suffering a loss, tragedy, disappointment, sickness, or a depressing situation?  God wants to pull you out of this and cleanse you from the inside out and bring you love and hope.  Turn to Him today.  Seek His heart and He will show you no greater life and joy than that which is found in Him.  His love is not a passing feeling.  It is an intimate, infinite relationship.  Would you seek Him out in prayer today?

A little background on Amber:
Amber is fossilized tree resin that oozes from certain kinds of trees when they break open… The resin hardens quickly and then changes slowly over time.  Over millions of years it turns into amber.  Amber usually goes through a process of mechanical treatment (grinding, cutting, turning or polishing) to become a gemstone, which is used in jewelry.

Will you let The Lord come in and change you slowly over time to become the precious gemstone He designed you to be?  It may require some mechanical treatment and polishing but it will render a beautiful precious stone!

“Dear Heavenly Father, for too long I have ran from you but you continue to pursue me.  I am fearful and don’t know how to surrender to you.  Please help me follow you and accept the transformation you want to begin in my life.  Thank you that you sent your only Son to earth to complete the most selfless act for me.  Thank you that His shed blood cleanses me and washes away my sin forever.  Please continue to polish me to make me more like you.” - In Jesus’s Name, Amen!

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
-I John 1:9

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 
-2 Corinthians 3:18

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17

By Damaris Avila