Teachers are inundated with questions. Questions about assignments, social expectations, life, spirituality and everything in between pepper the day. Teachers have the great privilege of investing in students not just for a short time but for a lifetime. Recently the questions “If God is good, why has He allowed such bad things to happen to me?” and “Why do I have to deal with hardships?”.
Frankly most of people have asked these questions. Sin, brokenness, and sorrow are a result of living in a broken world. None of which were God’s perfect plan for His children, but He does use these experiences to refine us, make stronger His attributes within us, and attract more people to Himself through us.The following poem answers these questions as well as the following biblical figures.
The Windows by George Herbert
“Lord, how can man preach thy eternal word?
He is a brittle crazy [cracked] glass:
Yet in they temple dost him afford
This glorious and transcendental place,
To be a window through thy grace.
But when thou dose anneal in glass thy story,
Making thy life to shine within
The holy preacher’s; then the light and glory
More rev’rend grows, and more doth win:
Which else shows watrish, bleak, and thin.
Doctrine and life, colors and light, in one
When they combine and mingle, bring
A strong regard and awe: but speech alone
Doth vanish like a flaring thing,
And in the ear, not conscience ring.”
In this poem, a preacher is likened to a stained glass window. Let’s consider the message of this poem for all Christians not just a preacher. The comparison Herbert creates is one of beauty. In stanza one, the poet rhetorically asks how can a preacher (Christian) preach the Word of God when he is cracked and wayward in his humanity.
He answers by saying it’s through the grace of God that the preacher can be a messenger of God’s Truth or a window in His temple.Stanza two states that glass is heated to add colors; much like the preacher’s life is refined through the heat of trial or difficulty. The colors are what makes a stained glass unique and lovely. A preacher or Christian’s life is made beautiful through refinement. When Christ followers allow God to mold, foster, and hone His attributes in them, Kingdom beauty is born. That other-worldly beauty is a beacon working to draw people to the kingdom of God. Faithfulness to God during the hardest of times is what speaks loudly to those watching lovers of Christ.
Stanza three concludes by saying, advice given through words alone is quickly forgotten, but testimony observed by a life of actions is not easily forgotten. It’s when the heat turns up that Christ follower’s decision to trust in God’s goodness and love and faithfulness is tested. When Christians face trial and difficulty, their true colors are revealed. People are watching, waiting, and wondering what makes those who love Christ so different. Hearts set on heaven, desperate for His presence, and faithful to His name are the most powerful weapons against darkness. Words fall short, but lives lived in true submission and faithfulness in the midst of sorrow and pain are the Creator’s beautiful masterpieces used for His glory.
The Bible is full of accounts of people who suffer, yet they are loved by God and the experiences are tools to further His good plan of redeeming His creation.Consider these men and women of the Bible and how their hardships furthered the kingdom of God. Job lost his family, wealth, and health- everything- to prove his faith genuine. Esther faced immense stress as she became a voice and advocate for her entire race in the face of severe hostility. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tossed into a furnace and used as instruments to turn a vile king and nation to the Lord. The early apostles were beaten, tortured, and even killed to prove unshakeable witnesses to a transforming power, an undeniable truth. Jesus, the pure, and perfect sinless Son of God, suffered as if He sinned for the salvation of many. If anyone deserved a pass on suffering it was Jesus, but He suffered immensely for the cause of the kingdom. And, thank heavens that He did.
We aren’t living for ourselves and our hardships can be used to bring others into His presence, if we can be vulnerable and open about them. Christians shouldn’t think, “Why me?”. Christians should ask “What are You teaching me through the hardship, and how can it be used for Your kingdom, Lord?”. God allows the trying to produce a genuine faith. He knows when His children are connected to Him they can bear up and bring Him glory.
“I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.” Psalm 71:7
“This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on m name and I will answer them; I will say, ” They are my people’ and they will say, ’ The LORD is our God.’” Zechariah 13:9
