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The Beauty of God's Jewels

by Jerry Ousley  
10/23/2015 / Christian Living

Some time ago Kentucky and several other states were hit by a terrible ice storm. It caused many to be without power for days right in the middle of winter when power for heat was needed the most. Some of you may have experienced this emergency.

Here in Southern Indiana we didn't get hit with the ice quite so hard. We did get a lot of snow and we did get some ice but not enough to put us in a state of emergency. A few days later, after the roads had been cleared and made passable, Deb and I went to visit our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter (she was our only grandchild at that time). Of course we love our daughter and her husband, but the highlight of the trip was to see our beautiful little granddaughter; we just loved her to pieces!

The road to their house winds through the woods, up and down hills and around curves. The ice on the trees was one of the most gorgeous sights I had witnessed for some time. Glistening from the trees and bushes, you could look back through the woods and it was as if the entire landscape was a large menagerie made of crystal. The ground was covered by untouched snow and the trees were like overhanging glass sculptures. The bushes looked like webs, sparkling and jewel-adorned as the sun broke through and bounced its rays from them. In the midst of tragedy and disaster God had created a fascinating work of art in nature!

Zechariah 9:17 says, "How great is its goodness and how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women." This verse of scripture is speaking about the people of God, comparing them to a jeweled crown held up like a banner over His land (see verse 16). Of course in this verse He is speaking of the nation, Israel. But He is also speaking of His Church. Verse 16 uses the language "as the flock of his people . . ." The Jewish nation is part of that flock. But the Church makes up the rest of the flock. God is saying that His people, comprised of the Jewish Nation and the Church, are like sparkling jewels in a crown. That's a wonderful picture isn't it? It makes me feel special to be compared to a jewel in the crown of God.

But then I think about the sin and corruption in the world, and still yet in me. In the Bible God's people the Israeli's, the Jews, failed Him often. Many times they tried to do what they wanted to do and worship God too. They would hide and worship false gods then turn around and go to the Temple with sacrifices in worship of God. They may have been hiding this from other men, but never from God.

As believers in Christ we want to be what God wants us to be. We want to reflect Jesus Christ in our lives as a witness to the world. But all too often we are also full of corruption. We are like a disaster to the world. Disasters cause interruption, confusion, inconvenience and sometimes death and destruction. That ice storm was not welcomed by most people. It wasn't a pretty sight to look outside and see downed trees and power lines. But once we see past the bad results, we see the art of the woods caused by the same disaster. It becomes a beauty in the midst of tragedy.

We are like that to God. We disobey Him. We sin against Him. We cause Him grief, heartache, and pain. But in the midst of our horrible lives God is creating a masterpiece of beauty. It is one we may not see because we can't see past the dirt of our lives. But God knows our hearts. He knows who we really are. He sees past the ugly, dirty snow and ice scraped from the highways of life. He looks right past them into the woods, untouched by human hands. He sees the jewels that make up His crown. When we know that we are like jewels in the crown of God, then we are inspired to do better. We feel guilt for our sin and wrong doing and we repent to God. We learn lessons. It doesn't mean that we've become perfect because we will probably fail God again, whether in the same old thing or in something entirely different. But it gives us hope to know that we are a sparkle of beauty in the eye of God A jewel not touched with human hands.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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