An uncut, freshly mined diamond is not at all visually impressive. It is merely a crystallized carbon compound subjected long ago to extreme pressure and high temperature. Though a diamond is the hardest substance occurring in nature, it looks quite ordinary. In its freshly mined, rough form, it looks like a small rock that combines the look of rounded form and prism form. At best, to the untrained eye, it looks curious, not impressive.
A rough, uncut diamond does not have the attractive color of a ruby, an emerald, or a sapphire. Primarily for that reason, ancient royalty prized rubies, emeralds, and sapphires above the ordinary looking rough diamond. The ancients knew the diamond was extremely hard, but they never saw the brilliance of the cut diamond.
The rough diamond is truly rare. In some diamond fields, the diamond was formed in a volcanic "pipe." Often diamonds were brought to the earth's surface by the means of volcanic activity. Today, in a good diamond mine, ten tons of volcanic "pipe" stone may contain one or two rough diamonds with a combined weight of 0.2 to 0.4 grams. These stones have the appearance of a pebble.
The brilliance of the cut diamond, a brilliance most of us associate with diamonds, is the result of light rays trapped in a cut stone seeking an escape exit. No clear natural substance on earth slows down the speed of light as much as does a cut diamond. Had the ancients observed the brilliance of a cut diamond as do we, they would have been as captivated by this hard stone as many of us are.
Again, prior to being cut, a diamond often looks quite ordinary. In the 18th century, there were numerous gold miners in Brazil searching for gold. In their search for gold, they discarded a fortune in diamonds because they did not know what those unimpressive stones were. In their search for something less valuable, they discarded something more valuable!
It is extremely important to recognize something for what it is! One must "see" the potential of a rough diamond to become a cut diamond.
If someone asked you if you would recognize a diamond if you saw one, you likely would say, "Yes!" Perhaps you would recognize a cut diamond if you saw it (there are stones that have the appearance of a cut diamond!), but most likely you think a diamond is obviously brilliant as is the cut stone.
If someone asked us if we know what obedience "looks like," most of us emphatically would say, "Yes!" We are not only certain we know what obedience looks like, but we even feel qualified to evaluate obedience, judge obedience, and distinguish between "false" obedience and "true" obedience. We have the concept of obedience aced!
Why? We are convinced we have mastered God's concept and definition of obedience. However, the truth is that we have been convinced to trust what we have been told about obedience. Perhaps what we have been told is the disclosure of complete information concerning obedience. Perhaps what we have been told is not a complete disclosure.
To open your mind and stimulate your interest in complete biblical information concerning obedience, complete the following statements and answer the following questions.
(Make the following into accurate statements which reveal what Obedience is. Answer honestly, truthfully by listing as many characteristics of "true" obedience as possible.) "True" obedience, the obedience recognized by God, has the characteristics indicated by my answers to the following questions:
What is the relationship between motive and obedience?
What is the relationship between correctness and obedience?
Is it possible to be 100% correct about anything religious or theological? Explain your response.
What is the relationship between knowledge and obedience? Does ignorance excuse any form of disobedience?
Can Christians perform contradictory acts and each act be accepted by God as an expression of obedience?
A major challenge is to determine God's balance (not ours!) between human obedience, God's mercy, God's grace, God's love, and God's forgiveness. All exist! All work together. Another challenge is to grasp the core reason for human obedience. Since no human act can obligate God, obeying involves a motivation beyond any concept of 'earning' or 'deserving'.
This quarter will be devoted to a study of obedience. Some scriptures and illustrations will be quite familiar to you. Some may not be familiar to you at all. Some concepts will affirm what you have always thought. Some will challenge your thinking and demand new understandings.
The objective is not to create doubt or despair. The objective is to challenge your mind to grow in God's direction.
To challenge your thinking and to generate discussion:
Please tell yourself a truth: it is okay to increase understanding of God's concepts! The challenge: understand, do not react. The better you understand, the better you will live for God.
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 1