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For about $20,000 you can change the ashes of your loved one into a
one-carat diamond. Or if you have less money, about $3500 will get you
a quarter-carat stone. Or if you prefer, you can have the diamond made
from the ashes of your deceased pet.
A company called LifeGem uses intense heat and pressure to grow
synthetically made diamonds from the ash of cremated remains. Because
of other elements in the ashes besides carbon, the diamond may have a
yellow tint. LifeGem says they can make over 100 high-quality diamonds
from the ashes of just one person.
Why would anyone want to keep his or her loved one around for the next
zillion years as a little rock? Could it be that they really don’t know
where he or she will go after they die? Could it be that they just
can’t face the possibility that this life ends it all? Might it be that
they will go to any length to keep their loved one “with” them forever?
There is a tendency for people to fear that they will be forgotten once
they are gone. In their search for significance, they go to great
lengths to make sure someone will recognize and remember them.
Isn’t it interesting that the most honored person of all time, Jesus
Christ, never tried to do anything to honor himself? And instead of
advising his followers to seek power and wealth he advised them to
become the servants of all.
I once read a quote that said, “There is no limit to what a man can
accomplish in life if he does not care who gets the credit.” In other
words, if you want to succeed, pass the praise around freely and build
others up.
Unfortunately, persons who were not given praise and respect as a child
often have a hard time recognizing it as adults. Instead of finding
lasting satisfaction in service, they often crave the approval of others
and mistakenly believe that it is found in controlling others or in
building personal monuments.
The problem is that all the power and all the credit in the world cannot
fill an empty hole. No spouse, no co-worker, no employee, no
achievement can give enough significance to fill a person who is empty
inside.
The Bible says, “Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you
up.” (James 4:10). Herein lies the secret of significance. The one who
yields himself to God no longer has the need to control others or to
build monuments. His only desire is to please God. As he walks with
God, he has the assurance that nothing – not even death itself – can
separate him from his eternal purpose.
We might as well get used to it. None of us will be here forever, not
even those who are turned into yellow diamonds. But we can find eternal
significance in a life of Christ-like service. We can invest ourselves
in good causes that will outlast us. We can pass on something to the
next generation that is more lasting than diamonds. Jesus said that his
words and his teachings will never pass away.
“All men are like grass and all their glory like the flowers of the
field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord
stands forever.” (1st Peter 1:24)
Paul Jetter, Upper Valley Community Church |
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