One of life’s most frequently asked questions is, “Why, God?” The only answer that fits all situations is this—“This can make you more like Jesus than you’ve ever been.” What happens in your life is either something your Father sends or He allows. But in either case, He only allows into your life what can make you more valuable, more Christ-like.

You can’t learn to love like Jesus unless there’s someone in your life who’s hard to love; you can’t learn His sensitivity without hurting; you can’t be Jesus-patient without having to wait, or to put up with someone difficult; you can’t learn joy without circumstances that you have to rise above; you can’t learn peace without some pressure; you can’t learn faith without needs that are bigger than your ability to meet them.

But unlike clay, you choose whether the Potter’s beautiful intentions are realized. If you forget the Potter’s goal, you can become desperate, bitter, hard, self-absorbed. Or you can let Him use it for the ultimate good. If you’re going to get the pain, you might as well get the point! And that’s to make you more like Jesus. The oven and the wheel are God’s tools to transform us blobs of clay into His masterpieces!

—The Oven, the Wheel, and the Masterpiece