A Friend in the Diamond Business

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"No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

A Dutch businessman on a visit to New York entered one of the most renowned diamond merchant stores in the world. He was searching for a rare, one-of-a-kind gem.

The owner of the store had his top employee show the Dutchman the most beautiful and most costly diamond they possessed. He looked it over carefully and listened as the salesman described in great detail where the stone was mined, the precision of the cut, the size of each facet, the tone of light that was refracted under a variety of light settings, the splendor of its color, and the overall uniqueness of the stone.

At length the Dutchman decided that, while it was indeed a very exquisite jewel, it was not what he sought. Just as he was about to leave the store, the owner – now free from being with another customer – stopped the Dutchman. “I couldn’t help over-hearing your conversation with my employee. Would you mind if I showed you the diamond just one more time?”

The Dutchman agreed. The store owner took the diamond and carefully set it upon a plush sheet of black velvet. He then lowered a light toward the diamond and took a moment to describe with such clarity and passion the unrivaled magnificence of this solitary stone.

Suddenly the Dutchman exclaimed, “Why, that’s it! That’s the very jewel I have searched for these past several years! I’ll take it!”

After the Dutchman left the store, the salesman approached the owner and asked, “Why were you able to change his mind – seeing we both said basically the same thing?”

“My friend,” the owner replied graciously, “you are indeed one of the most knowledgeable and best workers I’ve ever had work in my store. The difference, however, is that you know diamonds – but I love them.”

There's an old saying -- "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." That's the key in this Cause of ours as we seek to make Jesus known to others.

Do we merely come across as experts, full of knowledge, pushing a product so we can close the deal? Or, do we instead show the real affection we have for Christ and His work in our world, and the power of His grace to take anything and make it resplendent? And thereby help others see that THIS is what they've been looking for their whole lives?

Are we somebody's friend in the diamond business?
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