Grant Cyster comments

Grant Cyster

Any person who has lived beyond their teens will be mindful of the fact that life on this earth is anything but a constant bed of roses. There is no enjoyment of the good without the sting of the bad. There is no renewal of the rain without the occasional anger of the storm. The world in which we find ourselves is fundamentally flawed, and the positive things that we are fortunate enough to enjoy will not last indefinitely...at least not on this side of heaven. Life in this world provides no guarantee of our hearts being shielded from pain and disappointment. This is the unfortunate reality of a physical world marred by the stain and impact of sin. Try as we may to shelter ourselves or those we love from the piercing arrows of heartache, we will eventually fail.

This raises an unavoidable question: What do we do when the trials associated with a broken world inevitably visit our lives? Losing a position of employment. The death of someone we love. The unfaithfulness of a spouse. The onslaught of sickness and disease. These and a multitude of other storms hit our lives with such a veracity at times that the prospect of ever fully healing seems practically impossible. These tragedies force us to consider what is ultimately of importance in our lives. It leaves us with the understanding, or at least the faint suspicion, that our hopes and dreams ought to be anchored in noble ideals that will survive the tests of adversity and time. Gandhi stated that we should aim to be the change that we wish to see in the world. The King of kings declared the worth and importance of treating others the way we desire to be treated ourselves.

What person has ever lived their last minutes on their death-bed wishing that they had spent more hours at their office? Who, as their lives slipped away, were ever comforted by the sexual conquests they had managed to chalk up, the size of their devoted fan-base, or the dollar value of the fortune they had accumulated? No. We human beings were created for noble pursuits. We were created to love selflessly and to be loved in return. We were destined to inspire and to create things of beauty ourselves. In order to pursue these goals with balance and maturity, it is clear that one thing will be required of us...character. What is called for is the kind of temperament that clings to virtues such as patience, kindness, self-control...among others. This is the type of character that does not come without a price. When a heart is refined in the fires of adversity and humbly surrendered to the will of the Father, this kind of character is painstakingly forged. It is the kind of character that has learned the value of embracing conduct that has integrity even when it is difficult...especially when it is difficult.

Can we trust that the God we serve is in fact real? Can we be certain that He rules with unchallenged sovereignty in all things? Can we be assured of His perfect goodness and kindness towards us? In the times of hardship these questions are not always easily answered. Adversity has a way of laying bare the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts and revealing what ultimately motivates our beliefs and actions.

This is the kind of path that sets the heart on a pilgrimage that produces something of immeasurable worth. It is something that cannot be taken away by anything on this earth. It is the inner peace and calm that comes from knowing that we stand accepted before our God, and in harmony with our fellow human beings who inhabit the earth along with us. The notion of incredible pressure creating something of worth is not a strange one. As with coal crushed into beautiful jewels, or gold refined in the furnace, our hearts are cleansed and strengthened in the fires of adversity. Understanding this, we may come to see trials as instruments used in the hands of our Maker, utilised to carefully and gracefully fashion us increasingly into the likeness of His Son. Is there any other end that is more worthwhile? I think not.