What Does It Take to Forge Our Character?
Posted by: virginiaknowles <virginiaknowles@...>
Dear friends and family,
In His Sovereign Grace,
Virginia Knowles
http://www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com and http://www.VirginiaKnowles.com
What Does It Take To Forge Our Character?
Dear students,
"What does it take to forge our character?" Does that seem like an odd question? Well, let's think about our goals in life. If the goal in life is to have an easy, fun time and to please ourselves, then we have no hope. There will always be things that get in our way, and we will be continually frustrated and angry. But if the goal of life is to grow to be strong, solid and mature in our character, that's another story, and it's filled with hope. You see, we have all the opportunities we need to help us grow up this way. These opportunities come in the form of troubles, trials, and other tough stuff like work and relationships with family and friends. That's what it takes to forge our character! So we can really see our difficulties as gifts that are custom designed by the Lord to make us strong. However, our response makes a huge difference. We must respond well to our challenges in order to make the most of them. If we fight against them or get bitter, it's not going to help at all. In fact, God is likely to "increase the heat" even higher until we get the message to rely on him and accept what he is doing in our lives.
If you think about it, the natural physical world provides so many examples of how difficulties bring about strength.
Diamonds are born from lowly carbon, transformed by years and years of intense heat and pressure dozens of miles under the earth. Diamond-bearing rock is brought to the surface by volcanic eruptions, not exactly a happy occasion. But a "diamond in the rough" is not worth much until it is chiseled and shaped by a master craftsman. Then the facets radiate with beauty.
Gold, silver, and iron must be hacked out of the ground, then liquefied over fire until the dross floats to the top and is burned or skimmed away. The process is not done until the refiner can see his face reflected in the molten metal. Then it is pounded and pounded and pounded with the hammer on the anvil until it takes on the shape of what it is destined to become. Not a pleasant process, is it?
An athlete must exercise and practice, straining his muscles and training his reflexes just when he would rather be back home in bed or eating Twinkies. He undergoes discipline so he can compete and win.
In today's English class, our writing, literature, and Great American Communicators lessons also illustrate how suffering and perseverance develop character.
When we talked about writing, we discussed the revision process. Think of yourself as a rough draft, and God as the author. He is going to make many changes in your life before you reach the final version. The Bible says he is "the author and the perfecter of our faith" and that "he will be faithful to complete the work he has started in you" (Philippians 1:6). So, think of yourself as in the revision mode!
Finally, we read the poem "The Village Blacksmith" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. These verses include many references to the process of growing strong through adversity. First, we see the blacksmith has strong sinewy muscles, developed through the hard physical labor of swinging his sledge. Second, we see that he has endured the grief of his wife dying, yet he still faithfully worships God in church with his children. (Remember that Longfellow himself lost two wives to tragic deaths.) And third, we see the picture of iron that is forged and formed by fire and anvil. The last six lines sum it up:
Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.
The Bible, too, reminds us how suffering shapes our character:
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4
"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5
"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
I hope that these thoughts have been an encouragement to you to not only endure, but actually embrace the hard times in your life – as gifts from God for your good and his glory. Perhaps this will even help you to be patient with other people (who are in the forging process, too) as God uses them as tools to chisel away at your character.
In His Sovereign Grace,
Virginia Knowles
The Village Blacksmith
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.
Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.
And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.
He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.
It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.
Toiling,---rejoicing,---sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.
Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.
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