o much waste-material that hid the
beautiful statue.

I knew now that what would be left of the stone after the sculptor had
completed his work would go to adorn some fine building and to be looked
upon and admired by many people. No one had admired it in its former
state. It was only a block of stone, unattractive and of little value. But
it would now be a thing of beauty to be treasured. Yet that change could
take place only when the sharp steel had bitten away all useless parts.

I went away thoughtful. I realized that that was a great allegory of life.
The great Sculptor sees in every human being, no matter how rough and
irregular, great possibilities. Whereas we can see only the exterior, he
sees within the potential image with which he would adorn his glorious
building above. Man was created in the image of God, but that image is now
obscured by sin and its results. And so the divine Sculptor must do with
us as the sculptor did with the stone. He must bring to bear upon us the
sharp chisel of circumstances, of disappointment, of trial. It seems that
these things will destroy us. It seems that these things are evil, and we
shrink from them. Some think that God is not just toward them. Some cry
out in pain. Some mourn and lament. Some cry to God to stay his hand. And
many, oh, how many! rebel. They can not see what it means. They feel that
it is all wrong. Sometimes they murmur against God and their hearts grow
bitter; but all the time the Master Sculptor with his sharp chisel of pain
is only trying to carve in their natures and characters his own image.

You want to be in his image, do you not? You desire the beautiful lines of
righteousness, purity, truth, meekness, faithfulness, and kindness to
appear in you. You want to be a part of the adornment of the heavenly
temple. If you would be not a mere block of stone without form or beauty,
but the image of the Creator, you must let Pain do her work in you; there
is only one way. Christian character comes only through pain. If you
shrink and murmur or if you rebel, that image may be marred forever.

Think not that God will let your life be ruined. He wants you for the
adornment of his palace. So when pain comes--the pain of sorrow, of
bereavement, of temporal loss, of being reproached and having your name
cast out as evil, of being wounded by the tongue of slander--in whatever
form pain comes to you, hold still; bear it patiently; it will work out in
your life God's