READ: 2 CORINTHIANS 3:16-18; PHILIPPIANS 1:6-11; 1 JOHN 3:1-3 When you were younger, did you ever think gemstones came out of the ground perfectly cut and polished? I did. It shocked a younger me to learn that, when gems are mined, they come out looking like small, lumpy rocks—dusted with grime and seemingly fit to be tossed aside. People are like that too. We’re covered from head to toe with the dirt and grime of sin. And, though many of us may appear clean on the outside, we’re all equally grimy deep down. From the beginning of your life, the dust of the earth covers you, and there is no going back or erasing the sin and brokenness. But there is a way forward. Jesus came to earth to save us: to turn thieves, traitors, and liars into emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. He removes us from the ground, gently picking away at the sin we are encased in. Then He cleanses us, renewing our hearts, souls, and minds so we can praise Him! He shapes us into His image, and the journey, though slow and difficult, transforms us. Jesus showed that we are more precious than the largest diamond ever found when He gave up His life for us on the cross. And then He rose from the dead— so now, if we put our trust in Him, we become clean in our hearts, pure in our minds, and polished from our baby toes to the tops of our unruly heads of hair. We’re still a work in progress, but we can look forward to the day when we will see Jesus face to face, and we will be completely free from sin and death. In the meantime, we rejoice that we are saved through faith in Jesus, but we shouldn’t assume our lives will necessarily be easy. As Christians, we will face persecution and other trials. When all of it seems unbearable, we always have God to turn to: He is our expert craftsman, the One who dug us out of sin and cleansed us, making us new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). As we go through life, we can remember that we are God’s gems—immeasurably precious in His sight. • Sophia Grogg • If we know Jesus as our Savior, we can rest in His promise to complete the work of saving us from sin and death (Philippians 1:6). How can this promise encourage us when we fail? • When you look at your flaws and shortcomings, how could it be helpful to think of yourself as a gemstone in the hand of God—inherently valuable and treasured, but not finished yet? I rejoice greatly in the LORD, I exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a groom wears a turban and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10 (CSB)