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Emil was quiet.

They had walked for over an hour through the open plain, where the wind whispered secrets through the tall grass. Grandfather didn’t rush. He knew Emil’s silence was the prelude to something important.

At last, Emil asked,

“Why did God put us here—in this world, where everything seems so broken?”

Grandfather didn’t answer right away. He picked up a dry leaf from the ground, twirled it between his fingers, and then let the wind carry it away.

“The world,” he said, “is not broken. It is unfinished.”

Emil raised an eyebrow. “Unfinished?”

“Yes,” Grandfather replied. “Not because God lacked power—but because He gave you some of it.”

A Theater of Freedom

He motioned for Emil to sit beside him under a lone olive tree.

“Imagine,” he began, “a theater stage. On it are lights, props, costumes, and an invisible script written into your conscience. But the performance? That’s yours. No strings. No forced lines. No puppetry.”

Emil looked puzzled. “So God… watches?”

Grandfather smiled. “No—He witnesses. There’s a difference. Watching is passive. Witnessing is sacred. He sees every act not just for what it is—but for what it means to your soul.”

The World Is Not a Trap

“But why make it so hard?” Emil pressed. “Why the temptations? The injustice? The doubts?”

“Because the soul cannot be revealed in ease,” said Grandfather.

“Gold is not proven in cool water. It’s proven in fire.”

He paused, then added softly,

“This world is not a trap—it’s a test. And tests, my dear Emil, are not meant to crush. They are meant to show you who you are. And who you could be.”

The Chessboard of Choice

“Think of the world,” Grandfather continued, “like a giant chessboard. But one where every person moves their own pieces. Every decision—honesty or deceit, compassion or cruelty, patience or revenge—is a move toward light or toward shadow.”

“And the opponent?” Emil asked. “Satan?”

“Sometimes,” said Grandfather. “But often… the opponent is your own lower self. The whisper that says, ‘You deserve more.’ Or ‘Why forgive?’ Or ‘No one sees you anyway.’”

He quoted softly:

“Did I not command you, O Children of Adam, not to follow Satan—surely he is a clear enemy?”

(Qur’an 36:60)

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

(James 4:7)

The Soul’s Forge

Emil was quiet again. Grandfather could feel the wheels turning.

“So,” Emil finally said, “this world… is a forge. And the soul is what’s being shaped?”

“Yes,” Grandfather nodded. “And every trial—every desire, injustice, distraction, or delay—is a fire that either refines you into gold or reveals the cracks you didn’t know were there.”

A Sacred Place to Choose

“But if God knows everything,” Emil asked, “doesn’t He already know who will pass and who will fail?”

“He does,” said Grandfather. “But you don’t. And that’s the point. The test is not for God’s benefit. It’s for yours.”

He picked up a small stone and placed it in Emil’s palm.

“This world gives you the power to write your own testimony.”

The wind picked up.

The tall grass danced like a sea of hands reaching for heaven.

Emil closed his fingers around the stone. “Then I want to fight well on this battlefield.”

Grandfather’s eyes twinkled.

“Then fight with truth, compassion, and surrender. That’s how you win—not by being perfect, but by being sincere.”