The Highway Less Traveled

In another sermon, the "road less traveled," there were so many common phrases that someone suggested we might just publish a phrasebook next. In this sermon, the  let’s focus on another saying: A diamond in the rough.

Now, I can guess what some of you are thinking about me (and you should be…): “Tom’s not exactly what I’d call a diamond!” And you’d be right—there’s still a lot of polishing left for God to do on me. But isn’t that the point? We’re all works in progress, just like a marble slab in the hands of Michelangelo, being chipped away bit by bit. Somewhere in the rough stone of our lives, God sees the masterpiece He is creating.

Even Michelangelo reportedly said that every block of stone has a statue within it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. That’s what God is doing with us. He is the Master Craftsman, and we are His workmanship.

God at Work in Us

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:1-10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We are created for something greater than ourselves. Like raw diamonds, we need shaping, refining, and polishing to become the people God intends us to be.

Paul also writes in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” It’s reassuring to know that the Creator of the universe doesn’t abandon His projects. He is continuously working on us, patiently shaping us into His image.

David celebrated this truth in Psalm 139:13-16: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

David, like us, was a work in progress. And though he stumbled many times, he was a man after God’s own heart. His prayer, found later in the same psalm, should be ours as well:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

The Refining Process

God doesn’t just sculpt us—He also refines us like precious metals. Zechariah 13:9 says:
“I will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried.”

This refining isn’t always easy. It requires fire to burn away impurities. 1 Peter 1:6-7 explains:
“...though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold—may result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

God’s refining fire isn’t like a destructive blaze; it’s purposeful. It melts us down to remove what doesn’t belong, leaving us stronger, purer, and more radiant.

Learning from the Bible's Diamonds

Take Peter, for example. When Jesus first called him, Peter declared himself a sinful man. Yet, through years of teaching, correction, and encouragement, Peter became a cornerstone of the early Church. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, he writes: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”

Then there’s James, the brother of Jesus. James didn’t believe in Jesus at first, yet after the resurrection, he became a leader of the Jerusalem Church and wrote a letter emphasizing that faith without works is dead. James reminds us that our actions—our works—are evidence of God’s refining process within us.

Purification: Inside and Out

Purification isn’t just about outward appearances. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for focusing on external cleanliness while neglecting the heart. In Matthew 23:25-26, He said:
“You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. First clean the inside...that the outside also may be clean.”

God’s work begins in our hearts. From there, it transforms our thoughts, words, and actions. As James warns in James 3:5-10, the tongue can set forests ablaze. It’s a small member, but one capable of great harm or great good. This is why the purification of our hearts is so essential—it’s from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

Water and Fire: Symbols of Cleansing

Throughout Scripture, we see water and fire used as symbols of purification.

• In Noah’s day, God cleansed the earth with water.
• At the end of time, He will purify it with fire (2 Peter 3:7).
• Jesus, the Good Shepherd, washes us spiritually, as seen in His washing of the disciples' feet in John 13.

Baptism itself symbolizes this cleansing, representing the washing away of sin and the rebirth into new life.

The Masterpiece Revealed

One day, the chipping, refining, and polishing will be complete. In Revelation 7:9-10, John describes the multitude standing before the throne of God, clothed in white robes:
“These are the ones who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

We are God’s diamonds in the rough. Through His grace, we are being shaped into the radiant jewels He always intended us to be. It’s not an easy process, but the result is worth every trial.

So, let’s surrender to the Master Craftsman. Let’s allow Him to chip away what doesn’t belong, refine us in His fire, and purify us with His living water.

And one day we (whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life) will  stand before Him as polished diamonds, reflecting His glory for all eternity.