Though a diamond in the rough has the power to reflect light and break it into all the colors of the rainbow, the full beauty of the stone will not be realized until it is cut and polished. This is done by saws covered with diamond dust mixed with olive oil turning at speeds of 3,000 rpm. These saws are used to cut small facets, or surfaces, into the stone.

The most common diamond shape is called the "brilliant cut" because it allows a great degree of sparkling light dispersion, known as "tare" to be reflected. The full beauty of diamonds was not known until this type of cut was developed in the 17th century by an Italian lapidary (one who cuts and polishes precious gems). Most finished diamonds of this cut have 58 facets, all made at precise angles and proportions. In an ideal cut, all the light that reaches or enters a stone is reflected.

Even with high speed equipment, the sawing and polishing is a slow process. The stone is said to "groan" when touched by the saw. Cutting for the stone is not pleasant, but it is necessary to remove what hinders the display of light. In this process, the stone becomes smaller in order to be able to show forth its splendor.

The child of God, like the diamond, needs to be cut and polished. God labors to conform him in life and walk into the likeness of His dear Son. He uses various means, some of which are painful, causing the believer to groan. Through His discipline and testing, God seeks to remove the things in our lives that hinder the life of Christ from being manifest. This makes us smaller and more humble. "He must increase but I must decrease" (John 3:30).

Every cut is made with the skill and patience of a lapidary, and administered in divine wisdom and love. Hebrews 12:10,11 says it is "that we might be partakers of His holiness," that is, for the development in us of His holiness, which is His divine nature. His desire is that we might be a perfect brilliant cut, that all of Christ might be reflected through us.

—Tim Johnson