The Rarest of Gems

The Rarest of Gems

1988 9 September 18 The Rarest of Gems (434) Imagine an artist devoting all his talents and energy to the creation of a masterpiece only to have it destroyed by a vandal before his very eyes. How hateful the destroyer would appear to him. He would seem the most despicable creature in the whole wide world. So would one who snatched a rare blossom from a bush which had taken years to flower simply for the pleasure of crushing it under his heel. The gardener who had sweated and toiled for years to bring the plant to a peak of perfection could be forgiven for feeling that the destroyer deserved to be crushed in exactly the same way.

Just as the painting and the flower were wonderful creations which took time, patience, skill and effort to produce; so is the preacher of God’s word, a gem of creation which took not only all of these factors to bring it into existence, but the interplay of the divine forces of the entire cosmos. The preacher of God’s word is the creation of the Almighty Himself. He came into being at His behest. But the innumerable factors which serve to constitute one who calls mankind to God come together only once in many hundreds of years. That is why the true preacher of God’s word is such rarity, such a priceless jewel in society.

How then should society look upon one who plots the ruin of God’s preacher so that God’s message may never reach mankind? He should be made to understand that it is no ordinary, insignificant human being whom he calumniates, or even physically injures, but the chosen representative of the Maker of mankind. In showing disrespect to God’s messenger, he not only defies the whole vast universe, but rebels against God Almighty Himself, for it is He and none other who has nurtured this flower, created this masterpiece on earth for the divine purpose of conveying His word to mankind. If He sees His preacher destroyed He will wreak upon the destroyer the most terrible vengeance.

God has pledged that the evil designs of such wrongdoers will never prosper, and that the preacher of God’s word will inevitably fulfill his mission, no matter how others may attempt to smother his voice. By performing the tasks set him by God on this earth, he can be certain of God’s protection in this world and in the next. No mortal being can ever triumph over one who enjoys divine protection.

Those who seek to defeat the preacher of God’s word should appreciate that their adversary is not just the preacher, but God Almighty Himself.