Suppose you are escorted into a large vault where a long table has been set up. On that table, arranged in separate groups, are 2,868 diamonds, 269 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and 4 rubies. Contained in the collections are some notable stones including the 317-carat Cullinan II Diamond, the Black Prince’s Ruby, St. Edward’s Sapphire, and the Stuart Sapphire. Very impressive, you might think to yourself. Not being familiar with precious gemstones, you might have only a marginal impression of their beauty and their value.

Now suppose you come back later to the same vault where only one small table sits. This time your breath is taken away. You are looking at the same collection of gemstones, but this time they are in their proper setting. You are looking at the Imperial State Crown of the British monarchy, which is adorned with the vast collection of gemstones that were on the table. Previously you saw a collection of gemstones with no particular idea of their value. Now you are looking at something of inestimable value and beauty—a crown that represents the royal authority of the United Kingdom.

Before you were looking at small piles of stones. Now you are looking at those same stones arranged in such a way that they convey gravitas, authority, power, tradition, and history. The only difference is the setting. When the British monarch presides over the State Opening of Parliament, he or she wears the Imperial State Crown. Prior to the opening of Parliament, the crown is transported to the Palace of Westminster in its own carriage, accompanied by armed guards. Only then is the crown placed on the head of the monarch before the opening speech to Parliament. Could they simply bring all 3,170 of those gemstones to parliament in a bag? Of course—but it is not the stones themselves that are important. It is the stones in their proper setting: the crown.

Here’s another way to think about the power of setting. Imagine walking into a room and seeing a famous painting by one of the seventeenth-century Dutch Masters hanging on the wall—without a frame of any kind, just the bare painting on the wall. Next, imagine walking into the same room and seeing the same painting, this time surrounded by a gaudy, oversized, bright gold frame. Finally, imagine walking into the room and seeing the same painting surrounded by a modest frame that perfectly fits the mood and style of the painting.

In the first example the painting has no setting, no frame. In the second example the frame (the setting) completely overwhelms the painting. In the third example the frame and the painting fit together perfectly. The frame simply accentuates the painting without overwhelming it; the frame helps your eye focus on the painting instead of on the frame. Again, as with the crown jewels, the difference is the setting.

Gemstones, paintings, and people all have a measure of value in and of themselves. But their value is enhanced when they are displayed in the proper setting.

           

Your Spiritual Setting

When you are at a small social gathering and someone you don’t know enters the room, where do your eyes go? Normally, the first thing you look at is the person’s face—and more specifically, their eyes (“the window to the soul,” as the saying goes). I say “normally” because your attention might be drawn to something other than their face. It might be their attire, their actions, their language, or something else. When that happens, their “frame” has overshadowed their “painting.” Our personal setting is meant to complement and support the precious life that we possess. If our external setting overshadows our identity—found foremost in our face and demeanor—our setting is not serving its purpose.

Think of your life as a precious gemstone designed to reflect the light and life of Christ to those who are around you. What kind of spiritual setting has God designed to best reflect Christ in you?

What if the setting of your life was characterized by sexual carnality, impurity, debauchery, dark spiritual forces, hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, arguments, divisiveness, envy, addictions, profligacy, and the like? Sadly, that is the setting of some people’s lives as Paul described in Galatians 5:19-21. If you met a person with any of those characteristics, you would be so distracted that you would never see or get to know the true value of the person.

On the other hand, what if you made a new acquaintance who manifested traits like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? You would be immediately drawn to that person’s “face”—to their true identity as a person. The setting of their life would be so attractive and inviting that you would easily be drawn into a relationship with them. That’s the kind of person Paul described in Galatians 5:22-23—a person who manifests the fruit of the Spirit.

Think about the external setting of Jesus’ life. Isaiah 53:2 says that when the Messiah (Jesus) arrived, He would have “no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (NIV). That is, He would not come as a king draped in royal robes with a golden scepter in His hand, a crown on His head, and a group of sycophantic attendants following Him around to do His bidding. In fact, just the opposite. He came as a normal Jewish man whom you might have passed on the street without noticing. Yet everywhere He went crowds followed Him and hung on His every word. Why? Because the setting of His life was spiritual, not external. The setting of His life allowed the true jewel of His person to reflect God’s light and love.

That is the kind of spiritual setting God desires for each of us to manifest. But there is also a specific setting that God wants to put you in to MAXIMISE your value and beauty.

 

Your Specific Setting

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, emphasis added).

The words “you” and “your” occur four times in that passage—and in each of the four cases the plural form of the word is used. So Jesus was speaking to a large group of people when He referred to them being the light of the world. But I want to suggest that when He said “let your light so shine,” we can take that admonition personally and individually. That is, the setting in which God wants your light to shine may be different than the setting for others. And I want to suggest that our light will shine the brightest when we discover the setting that complements our life in the best way possible.

Each of us needs to manifest the spiritual setting characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, but perhaps the gifts of the Spirit are a way to think about the individual and specific setting that God has called us to. I know the setting in which God has placed me is as a pastor-teacher in a local church and as a preacher of the Word of God in additional venues. But God may have called you to an entirely different setting based on the gifts He has given you as well as your natural talents and abilities. Nothing will cloud the brilliance and beauty of a valuable gemstone more than putting it in the wrong setting. And nothing will shadow the light and life of Christ in us more than when we try to serve in a setting that is not the one where God can use us most effectively.

As the Master Gemologist in our life, God is doing two things: He is cutting, shaping, and polishing us as precious gemstones to glorify Him. And He is also creating a setting for us to serve in which we can reflect His light and life most brilliantly. Our challenge is to yield ourselves to God’s work in our life as He prepares us to display His wisdom and glory and to seek out the perfect setting in which we can reflect Him to others.