The LORD their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. Zechariah 9:16
I was sitting outside this morning listening to Joel Osteen when my attention was drawn to the stones that surround my house. They’re all under our chairs, and I really started to look at them. Out of all those dull stones, there were a few that the sun was shining on making them sparkle a whole lot. I found one rock that was totally unlike the others. It was pretty much a see-through stone. That was rare in my stones!
As the sermon was playing, my eye went to another rock that was rough, dull, and plain looking on all areas except one. There was that sparkle I had been seeing on some of the other ones! I noticed a few things. First, not all the stones had sparkle, and even the ones that did, became duller when the sun wasn’t shining directly on them. Second, there are lots of sparkles on the inside of some of the dull looking ones. Third, there are very few see-through ones.
Joel Osteen said that what we focus on is what we magnify. When the sun was focused on those rocks, that’s when they started glimmering. I believe those rocks can really represent people. We all start out pretty dull before the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. Once He’s there, we sparkle on the inside, but it isn’t always seen on the outside. Some bring that shine to the surface, some don’t.
Some people wait until they have another person encouraging them before they sparkle on the outside, but that goes away as soon as their outside circumstances change. As soon as the focus is off them, the sparkle isn’t as magnified. However, those who allow God to magnify them from the inside out don’t lose their sparkle due to circumstances.
Today, focus on what’s already inside you to magnify and keep the sparkle on the outside. Be an extremely rare case and be see-through, allowing others to glimpse the Holy Spirit by just looking at you! Go further and magnify what you know is inside others by focusing on the good even if the sparkle isn’t there yet.
