by Peter Van Gorder
“Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee.”
Diamonds are only chunks of coal
That stuck to their jobs, you see;
If they’d petered out, as most of us do,
Where would the diamonds be?
– Virginian Call
Diamonds and coal are both made of carbon. So why are diamonds so prized while coal is merely thrown into the fire to burn? What makes the difference between the glistening gem that is a symbol of purity and strength, worn in the crowns of royalty, given as engagement gifts or to celebrate 75 years of marriage and its humble cousin, coal?
Coal is the fuel used to turn the turbines of electricity plants and burned for heating. Coal is burned to make coke, which is a purer form of carbon, to make steel.
What makes diamonds different from coal? It is the amount of heat and pressure it undergoes that makes all the difference.
Diamonds are crystals of pure carbon that have been subjected to tremendous heat and pressure in the bowels of the earth and brought to the surface by extraordinary volcanoes.
Coal was formed when sedimentary layers of vegetation became compressed under many layers above it. It takes much more pressure and heat to make a diamond than it does coal.
Diamonds are truly extraordinary! They are the hardest natural substance known to man. Diamonds are transparent over a larger range of wavelengths (from the ultraviolet into the far infrared) and have a higher refraction index than any other substance. They conduct heat better than anything else- five times better than the second best element, silver. Diamonds have the highest melting point (3820 degrees Kelvin. note: I’m not sure what this is in centigrade.). The atoms of diamond are packed closer together than are the atoms of any other substance.
The trials and tribulations that we face in our lives are like the heat and pressure that is exerted on the carbon atoms to shape them into diamonds. If we are going through particularly hard times, it may be that the Lord is making something precious from us that will be of great value later in our lives.
Imagine if the diamond refused to go through the process of heat and pressure to become what it was destined to be. If it did, it would still remain a lump of coal.
Even after the diamond is formed in the earth and discovered by man, it must be cut and polished before it can be used. Diamonds are cut and polished by friction using other diamonds. Destiny often cuts and polishes us by using the friction of trials and adversities in our life. People who have gone through the polishing process already – other diamonds — can help make us better diamonds too if we let them.
A sure way to tell if a diamond is an imitation or the real thing is by placing it in water. An imitation diamond totally loses its sparkle when it is submerged, while a real diamond continues to clearly glisten underwater. The contrast between the real and the imitation is apparent to any eye. Like genuine diamonds, we too will continue to shine with brilliance even if the waters of sorrow overwhelm us, if we have real faith.
In some lands, the lack of water brings sorrow. But in June of 2002, the monsoons had still not come and so the rivers in the area of Andhra Pradesh, India had dried up. A woman in the city of Paritala turned this difficulty into a blessing when she found and sold $14,580 worth of diamonds that she had discovered in the dry riverbeds.
Perhaps the most popular diamond story was told by Russell Conwell in the late1800’s. The story was a part of a speech that he delivered more than 6,000 times called “Acres of Diamonds”. The story went something like this:
A wealthy farmer by the name of Al Hafeed lived in India in the Indus River basin. His farm prospered with fruitful orchards, vast expanses of grain fields, and fertile vegetable gardens. He had much to be thankful for.
Being always hospitable to strangers, Al Hafeed one day welcomed a traveling priest that he met by chance to stay in his home. After the meal, Al Hafeed’s family and the priest sat around the fire. The priest proposed to tell a story to entertain his host. He asked, “What kind of story would you like to hear?”
“I have always been curious,” said Al Hafeed, “how this world of ours was formed. You see, all my wealth comes from the earth, yet I know so little about its origins.”
“Ahh, a creation story! So be it.” The priest gathered his thoughts for a moment before continuing.
“The Creator could have made this world perfect at first, but to give us hope, He chose to bring order out of chaos. This chaos was without form and void. It was confusion and emptiness — a very deep darkness.
“Then the Spirit of God fluttered on the face of the waters, and God said, ‘Let light be,’ and light was. The first born of all visible beings created was light, the great beauty and blessing of the universe! Being the first creation, it most resembles its great parent in purity and power, brightness and generous love. And God saw the light that it was good. It was exactly how he planned it! God separated the light and the darkness. You see He needed the darkness to give the light a background on which to shine.
Then God called to the light ‘You are ‘Day,’ and to the darkness, ‘You are ‘Night’;’ and there was an evening, and there was a morning – That was day one.
And God said, ‘Let an expanse,’ which was like a sheet that is spread, or a curtain that is drawn, ‘be in the midst of the waters. Let it separate waters and waters,’ and it happened just like He said it would.
And God called to the expanse ‘You are Heavens;’ and there was an evening, and there was a morning – day second.
Having finished the upper part of the visible world, He now descended to the lower part.
And God called to the dry land, ‘You are Earth,’ and to the collection of the waters He called, ‘You are Seas,’ and God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
The earth was clear of the waters, dried by the expanded air, hardened by the fiery light,
Al Hafeed interrupted, “What did the fiery light look like?”
“I imagine it looked like a diamond in its brilliance. And then God…”
“Have you ever seen a diamond?” Al Hafeed asked.
“In my travels, I once came upon such a wondrous stone and I have heard much about them.”
“Tell us what you know,” Al Hafeed said eagerly.
It is said, that a diamond is the last and highest of God’s mineral creations, as a woman is the last and highest of God’s animal ”
Everyone began to laugh at this remark.
When all were quiet, Al Hafeed pleaded, “Go on, tell us more about diamonds!”
“It has been said, that diamonds exhibit powerful effects of love. Diamonds are said to have magical powers. Diamonds are supposed to give to the person who wears them great virtues and long life. They are said to repel bad dreams and nocturnal spirits, solve disputes, cure insanity, dissipate poisons, defeat enemies, cure delirium, and banish all disturbances of the mind. But, I doubt if a stone, even a stone as beautiful as a diamond can do such things. Such power belongs only to God.
“But I do know, that if a man had a mere handful of diamonds he could purchase a whole country, and with a mine of diamonds, all of his children would become kings through the influence of the great wealth that diamonds bring.”
As the last embers of the fire were extinguished, everyone went to bed and slept soundly. All that is except for Al Hafeed. Sleep escaped him, for his mind was set on one thing, and one thing only – to find a mine of diamonds. He lay awake all night, making plans and very early in the morning sought out the priest.
Now I know from experience that a priest when awakened early in the morning can be very cross and so was this one. Al Hafeed shook him and asked, “Tell me where I can find diamonds?”
The priest mumbled half awake, “Diamonds? What do you want with diamonds?”
“I want to be immensely rich. If only a fraction of the things said about diamonds are true, they must be truly wonderful!”
The priest began to awake, “Instead of diamonds you should search for wisdom. Wisdom, my friend, is better than diamonds, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.”
“I would rather have diamonds! I must have diamonds!”
“I wish you all the best in your search, now please let me go back to sleep.”
“Not until you tell me where to go in my quest to find these treasures.”
“Well, if that is the only way I will get some sleep, I suppose I better tell you,” said the priest, “if you find a river that runs over white sand between high mountains, look in those sands and you will always see diamonds.”
“Do you really believe that there is such a river?”
“Plenty of them, plenty of them; all you have to do is just go and find them, then you will have the diamonds that you seek. Now please let me sleep!” the priest said impatiently as he pulled his blanket up over his head.
And so Al Hafeed went and sold his farm, left his family in charge of a neighbor, and traveled in search of diamonds, deaf to the loud protestations of his family and his friends who tried to reason with him to give up his mad plan.
After a long journey he began his search, at the Mountains of the Moon, in East Africa, yet found nothing. Afterwards, he searched all about Palestine – no diamonds, then he wandered all across Europe – nothing, and at last, when his money was spent, and he was in rags, wretchedness and poverty, he stood on the shore of a bay in Barcelona, Spain. When a tidal wave came rolling in through the Pillars of Hercules, instead of running away from it, this poor, afflicted, suffering man could not resist the awful temptation to cast himself into that incoming tide, and he sank beneath its foaming crest, never to rise in this life again.
About this time, Ali, the man who had bought Al Hafeed’s land, led his camel out into the garden to drink, and as that camel put its nose down into the clear water of the garden brook Ali noticed a curious flash of light from the sands of the shallow stream, and reaching in he pulled out a black stone having an eye of light that reflected all the colors of the rainbow. Ali took that curious pebble into the house and left it on the mantelpiece above the fireplace, then went on his way and forgot all about it.
A few days after that, the same old priest who told Al Hafeed of the wonder of diamonds, was traveling again on the same route and decided to visit Al Hafeed. Ali welcomed the priest into his home, as is the custom in that region, and told how he had bought the farm from Al Hafeed. As they were talking the priest saw a flash of light from the mantelpiece. He rushed up to it and held it curiously in his hands and said, “This is a diamond! Has Al Hafeed returned?”
“No, no, Al Hafeed has not returned. That is not a diamond; that is nothing but a black stone; we found it right out here in our garden.”
The priest answered, “But I know a diamond when I see it, and that is a diamond! Show me where you found it.”
Together they rushed to the garden and stirred up the white sands with their fingers and found more beautiful, more valuable diamonds than the first, and thus were discovered the diamond mines of Golconda, the most magnificent diamond mines in all the history of mankind. The great Kohinoor diamond in England’s crown jewels and one of the largest diamonds that is now found in Russia’s crown jewels, came from that mine.
Had Al Hafeed remained at home, appreciated his blessings, and dug in his own garden, he would have had “acres of diamonds”. In every acre of that farm there was discovered gems, which have decorated the crowns of monarchs.
Thanking God for the blessings that He has given us is the way to true happiness. Being discontented with what we have and setting our heart on elusive riches will only bring depression and death. In all things let’s give thanks!
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
A modern day presentation of the story:
Bringing Home the Elixir 