What is a pure diamond? Would you believe that synthetic (man-made, lab-created) diamonds can actually be of superior quality than stones mined from the earth? Synthetic gems are created within a carefully controlled environment of intense heat and pressure, and many of the typical flaws in color, clarity, etc. can be avoided. And yet, “natural” diamonds that are formed through geological processes still seem to be favored over their lab-created counterparts. Why is that?

As I was thumbing through dozens of baptism photos this week, I thought about the hundreds of people whose lives have been changed through our church over the past decade. I thought about the symbolic cleansing of baptism and the newness that it represents. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that when we believe in Christ, we become a brand-new creation. We are like synthetic diamonds!

You can’t read very far into the New Testament without coming across a situation with the religious leaders of the time who thought they were holier-than-thou. They were like the “natural” diamonds, because they could likely trace their bloodlines back to the time of Aaron and Moses. They were proud of their respected heritage and genealogy, and they made sure others knew that they were better than them – that they were the “real” stuff. And then Jesus came along, converting people regardless of their lineage or claim to fame. He was making new diamonds!

I love this imagery in Ezekiel 36:25-28 (The Message) concerning the nation of Israel: “I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.”

If you think that converting a heart of stone into a heart of diamond will require anything short of a pressure-cooker, then you may be in for a rude awakening. Growth can be difficult, but if you let God work on drawing out your impurities (yes, even through intense heat and pressure), then the results will shine!