I carry with me a reminder of God’s incredible plan of marriage to my beloved friend, partner, wife, and help meet –for me everywhere I go.
It is a piece of gold. Most of you here this morning have one, too.
It is a ring. You also have that reminder if you have anything made of gold, silver, or precious gemstones. Or at least after this morning, they can become a reminder of God’s plan to you of God’s plan for your life.
What will you end up with from your life lived on planet earth? God says all we will hold in our hands at the end of life will be either ashes or treasures.
For every day, every hour, and every moment lived — God is going to reduce EVERYTHING to smoke and soot, or one of three things – gold, silver, or precious stones. Which do you think is better? Your life today reflects what you believe about the end result you desire – ashes or treasures.
Open with me to 1st Corinthians 3.10-15. When we get to 1st Corinthians we will discuss far more about why God chose these symbols of our life.
The first three substances — gold, silver, and precious stones are very identifiable. They are hard to change. Gemstones can be crushed, ground, or milled as flour and yet NEVER lose their distinct crystalline structure. An amethyst is rhomboid in structure, whack it with a hammer, crush it to powder – every piece will be rhomboid. Topaz is orthorhombic – the same is true to the minutest speck. Rubies are hexagonal to the minutest speck; and so through every precious stone. Gold is one of the heaviest minerals and therefore can be panned easily because the Gold sinks to the bottom, below the other substances. In addition, it can be easily separated from other substances due to weight differences. Gold is the most malleable and ductile substance known. It can be flattened out to less than .00001 (hundred-thousandth) of an inch and a 1 oz. (28 gram) mass can stretch out to a distance of over 50 miles (75 kilometers)!
These three precious substances are also very scarce. It is hard to find much of any of them so they are called precious. They are all out of sight (underground) and hard to get. They also are very enduring able to withstand all the elements – fire, water, storms, and time. Gold is also one of the most resistant metals. It won’t tarnish, discolor, crumble, or be affected by most solvents. This adds to the uniqueness of this mineral.
The other three substances Paul names are all above ground, very visible (wood of trees, hay of grass, the stubble of straw), very fragile – they burn, they die from insect attack, they rot with water; very soft (they can be easily ground up and lose their identity); very plenteous (they grow everywhere).
But gold and silver and precious stones all have a problem. They are not usually beautiful in their natural state. They need some purging, refining, and polishing. My wedding ring is made of precious gold. It has a soft and beautiful shine that reflects an incredible change that has taken place. You see gold and silver rarely occur pure and shiny in their natural state. “The mineral Gold is almost always mixed with a small amount of silver, and sometimes contains traces of copper and iron. A Gold nugget is usually 70 – 90 percent gold, and the remainder mostly silver.”
Think of this verse the next time you look at anything that shines with the luster of gold or silver.
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