A fascinating place to visit in London is the famous Tower of London. Inside the Tower of London, in a special vault in front of the Waterloo Barracks, is a room that contains the Crown Jewels of the British Empire. The Crown Jewels have been kept there since the year 1303.
It is quite an experience to visit this room and see with your own eyes all of the jewels and diamonds. For example, inside that room is the famous Cullinan diamond, also known as the First Star of Africa. It weighs 530.4 carats and is the largest clear-cut diamond in the world. The room also holds St. Edward’s Crown, from the year 1661. The crowd is made of pure gold, with 44 precious stones.
The Imperial State crown is there. It was made for King George VI in 1937 out of pure gold and includes 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies. The room has 23,578 priceless gems.
A conveyor belt serves as a moving sidewalk for tourists to go through the room. It keeps everyone moving along. It does not stop or even slow down.
That moving sidewalk is a reminder to us of something very important. The treasures of this world are temporary. We glide right past them on the moving sidewalk of life and time. Even royalty cannot hold on to the throne or riches forever.
The Apostle Paul affirmed, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” (I Timothy 6:7)