skip to main |
skip to sidebar
One of the things I have to manage in my jewelry business at The Karat Patch is security. I must provide security not only for all the jewelry in the store, but also for any jewelry that people may have left for repair. I provide that security whether the store is closed or open, i.e. 24/7. I have found (especially lately) that people are more inquisitive about whether or not we provide such security. My guess is that in these uncertain times, when everyone seems to have lost something...money in a 401K, their job, their car, what-have-you...that the thing they have lost most is their trust. They can't trust their investments, they can't trust in the job security of their company and so on. So I understand when people are a bit more curious about the security of their jewelry...they don't want to lose that too. The trouble is, I can't really tell them or show them just how secure things are without compromising that security in one form or another. The best I can do is to look them in the eye and say "your things are secure" with the full confidence that I have told them the truth. After a customer visits enough times, and my truth is proven, then trust is achieved. Time + Truth = Trust.
Time + Truth = Trust. I thought about that little formula and how it applies to the occasion of a person accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. Some people can hear the Gospel once and believe. Other people need to hear it many times. It’s been said that most folks hear the Gospel an average of seven times before they accept Jesus Christ as Savior.
Sometimes we are sowers and sometimes we are reapers. I might be the sower that presents the Gospel to someone six times and they don’t believe, but you present it that seventh time and they do believe. I sowed – you reaped. Some folks just need to hear the same truth several (or more) times before they trust what they have been told. Time + Truth = Trust.
But whether we sow or reap, we both work for the same master. When the harvest comes everyone rejoices…the sower, the reaper, and the master (John 4:36). One thing is certain; there must be trust. When we sow, we must trust that the seed is good and will bring forth fruit (Isaiah 55:11). When we reap we must trust that the master will keep the harvest secure (John 17:12). And the master must trust that we will do this work for Him to which we have been commissioned (Matthew 28:19-20).
Time + Truth = Trust. Trust then produces security, and security produces peace. And there’s nothing like being at peace.
NEXT POST: Having Great Metal and Having Great Mettle
The Maintenance
When my customer wears their new creation out in the world, I want my work to be so outstanding that people take notice (Proverbs 16:3). The same should be true of our lives when we are made new by our Creator. When we have been made a new creature in Jesus Christ, and we take ourselves out into the world, our lives should reflect that something has changed. That ‘reflection’ should be that of Jesus. One of my bible teachers says that after we claim Jesus Christ as Savior, “we should be so full of life that when we walk by the produce department of the grocery store, even the lettuce should perk up!”
Customers always tell me that they get more compliments on their jewelry after they have come into The Karat Patch and gotten a good professional cleaning. The metal and the gems both shine and sparkle brightly. You know, the jewelry has been out there in the world and got dirty. This reminds me of what happens to our lives too. We have to be out there in the world and…well, we get dirty. But we can get a good cleaning if we come to Jesus and show Him our dirty lives (confession of sin) (1John 1:9). Jesus forgives us our sin, cleanses us from unrighteousness………makes our lives shiny and new…….a condition that ‘reflects’ the Creator. At The Karat Patch, we sell all kinds of products to maintain a beautiful appearance to your jewelry. But, Jesus has freely given us all kinds of things to maintain a beautiful appearance to our lives; The Bible, our Christian friends, prayer of confession and most importantly, His life and more pointedly, His cleansing blood.
I tell my customers that their jewelry should be kept clean and checked regularly. That’s good advice for our lives too. After I have made something new out of something old and the customer is happy, they pay me and leave the store. My hope is that they are so happy with the transformation that they tell everyone who made it happen for them. And so it is with our transformation by the wonderful saving grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus too wants us to go out (Matthew 28:19) and share with every one we know the story of how it all happened, and how He can make that happen for them too. In the jewelry world and in the spiritual world, this is called “giving a testimonial”. It is the account to others of an impressive positive experience. The testimony is intended to instill in those who hear it a confidence that the work has been done by someone they can trust with their valued possession(s). In the jewelry world it is their precious metal and gems, in the spiritual world it is their precious LIFE.
If you have trusted me with your valuable possessions and have had a great experience at The Karat Patch, I hope you would speak well of me so that others know they can trust me too.
If you have trusted Jesus with your valuable life, I encourage you to tell others about your experience so that they will know they can trust Him as well, and that He can make something NEW…… from something old.
I hope that you have enjoyed this series and have learned something new about jewelry casting, and understand now why every time I go through the process I see Jesus.
And all God’s children SAID –Amen!
NEXT POST: Time and The God-Shaped Hole
