All Is Not Gold that Glitters

posted in: Illustrations | 0

Fake DiamondSome years ago a man, who lived in Brazil, wrote to the emperor telling him that he had found an enormous diamond, — the largest that had ever been seen ; and he asked the privilege of being allowed to come in person and present it to the emperor. One of the emperor’s carriages was sent down for him and an escort of soldiers. The man rode up to the palace in great state. When he arrived he threw himself at the feet of the emperor, and presented to him the diamond. He was astonished when he saw it, and so were all the nobles in the court. They examined it with great care. They weighed it, and found it was about a pound in weight. Then they began to calculate how much it was worth. Judging by its weight, they found it would be worth one hundred and eighty-seven million dollars. No wonder they were glad, and made a great ado over the man who brought it. Then the large diamond was put carefully away, in a strong chest, in the emperor’s jewel room. That room was locked, and soldiers appointed to guard it night and day.

About that time an English gentleman visited the emperor. He was known to be an excellent judge of diamonds. The emperor invited him into his jewel room to see his great treasure. The strong chest was opened. The huge jewel was brought out. He looked at it. He took a diamond ring from his finger. He drew it across the surface of the large jewel. It made a scratch. This showed it was no diamond at all. The emperor’s hundred and eighty-seven millions of dollars all melted away like a castle in the air. The poor man who brought it had to trudge home on foot! “It is not all gold that glitters.” It is not every bright stone that is a diamond. One of the ways to tell a counterfeit is by trying to scratch it. A real diamond can’t be scratched. Another way is by putting it beside a true diamond and comparing them together. And so, if you wish to tell if a person is a true Christian, you must compare him with Jesus, and see if he is like him. Jesus was gentle, loving, and kind. And the Bible says that “unless the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus we are none of his.” This means that unless we are like him we are not true Christians.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *