A Diamond in the Making — Our Personalities
Week Thirty-three
August 10, 2025
But as a matter of fact, God has placed each of the members in the body just as he decided.
— 1 Corinthians 12:18
Diamonds vary in color. And, metaphorically speaking, so do we. Forces both internal and external shape a person’s personality just as impurities and external stresses help to determine the shading of a diamond. In fact, the hue that gives a diamond its uniqueness also increases its value.
Each of us is unique. Just like a diamond, we’ve all been shaped by forces external and internal. These forces inform our personalities through the process of God, shaping us and making us distinctive parts of the whole. We are diamonds joined together to form a marvelous and valuable heirloom. God doesn’t remove our personality, making us into programmed robots; no, he employs our personalities in the refining process to make us uniquely wondrous. He makes all things beautiful in their appropriate time.
The Hope Diamond, probably one of the most famous and most valuable diamonds in the world, has a blue coloration to it. Boron impurities present during the formation process of the diamond give it its bluish hue. The very element which at first might have seemed to be a disruptive intruder actually came to enhance the diamond’s value in the end. The truth is that our hurts, our stresses, our idiosyncrasies, all actually work together to enhance, not detract, from our ultimate value — they work into us a compassion for others who suffer. Our humanity helps us to relate to humanity.
One extraordinary characteristic of a diamond is in the way that it reflects and refracts light. The same is true of us — we reflect and refract his light in a unique way through each of our personalities, dispersing his attractiveness to those around us. Do not belittle who you are; do not look with contempt on those colorations of your personality that make you, you. You are beautiful and in your weakness his strength is made perfect.
Maybe you possess an uncommon perspective, a different way of looking at things. Or you might have a soft spot in your heart for those that suffer under addiction. Your mark of distinction may be your intensity and passion. Or maybe you’re always singing. Good, good, good. God uses forces external and internal to color each of us like a beautiful diamond for his glory.
He formed you in your mother’s womb. How magnificent are his works. He fashioned you uniquely to be unique. You are marvelous. You have your own fingerprint, your own visage, your own personality and talents. And all of these help to position you for the important role you have been assigned in his kingdom. So, do not look down on yourself, or on others; and remember, we are all diamonds in the making.
Monday
August 11, 2025
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
— 1 Corinthians 12:27 (ESV)
My wife and I look at things differently. Sometimes, very differently. We are individuals united as one in marriage. She likes sweets, I like salt. She’s comfortable in a room full of people, I’m comfortable in an easy chair with a book. But because of my wife, because of her individuality that differs from mine, I’ve grown. God has shaped and shaded us uniquely to sharpen and shift one another. Iron sharpens iron. We bear with one another and accept one another with all our differences and idiosyncrasies. Why? Because each one of us individually is a diamond in the crown of God’s kingdom collectively. We are all diamonds in the making.
Can you name a personality trait in someone close to you that you appreciate? Can you name a personality trait in someone close to you that rubs you the wrong way?
What is one personality trait that you can envision God using in his kingdom? How does God go about refining that unique trait for use in his kingdom?
Tuesday
August 12, 2025
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
— Romans 8:28 (ESV)
Do you think God was aware of your weaknesses and shortcomings when he called you into the service of his kingdom? Is it irresponsible for the Almighty to employ the flawed and feeble for his purposes? Every tendency, every propensity, every oddity, the whole of our personality, is a palette the Creator dips his brush into to color the jewel you are becoming. He works all things together for good. Every tragedy, each regret, our weakness, our strength. Forces external and internal are at the disposal of the Sovereign Lord of lapidary for the formation of you, his good work.
How has God used your personal experiences to shape you? What is one difficult experience that you’ve seen God use for good?
In the context of today’s reflection, how might you encourage someone going through a difficult time? What encouragement might you give to someone who is feeling discouraged in their trials?
Wednesday
August 13, 2025
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
— 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
You may find it interesting to know that a diamond is the hardest material on earth and can be used to cut steel and stone. This strength is built into the diamond as it undergoes the formative process. I find in myself a tendency to boast in my strengths, but in today’s scripture we find what may seem an odd assertion: God’s power is perfected in our weakness, as he forms us. True strength comes from God — it is of his making. Our personality is tempered and infused into what we are becoming — objects of grace. His great power moves freely in those who realize their great weakness. God does not ask that we lay aside who we are, but that we allow him to refine and beautify it. A realization of weakness quickens that process.
What is the message Paul is relaying by saying that he boasted in his weakness? How does that statement impact you?
Do you ever think of people in the bible (i.e. Peter, John, Mary, James) as having individual personalities? How does that truth impact you personally?
Thursday
August 14, 2025
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
— Psalm 139:13,14 (NLT)
What could assign more value to a life than the truth that the very fingers of God have set forth to form and knit this treasured being in accordance with depths of his creative conceptions? Just as the making of a diamond begins in the depths of the earth, so the formation of you as a treasured work of God began in the womb. Both treasures begin hidden from the eyes of man. What man may refuse to recognize, God places a high value on. From conception to heavenly reception, the Lord sees the marvelous you in your completed state. Throughout your journey, you are held in high regard by your Creator as the imago Dei; may none demean or hinder that.
What price does God put on human life? On your life? Do you see the value of individual life held in high esteem in society today?
Compare the finest, most valuable work of art known to man and compare that with God’s creation of man. What differences do you see? Why is human life of the highest value?
Friday
August 15, 2025
For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 1:6 (NET)
In this life, there are few things that we can be sure of. Health? I’ve seen the ravaging effects of COVID. Finances? I’ve watched my investments fly out the window as if they had wings. Relationships? I’ve witnessed them being torn apart in an instant. But one thing that you can be sure of is that the God who called you into relationship with himself will be faithful to sanctify you until the very end. Knowing your personality, he will masterfully saw, shape, and polish you, a diamond in the rough, with sedulous effort and prescience into what the final you will be. Who you are currently is not a hindrance to God, but rather the raw material he has chosen to form into a display of his majesty.
Do you ever feel discouraged in the sanctification process that God is bringing you through? What truth or truths could be helpful in alleviating this discouragement?
What attitude towards others does the scripture encourage us to have as he is working in them? How can you pray for someone who is currently going through a “growth spurt”?