Thoughts on Temptation

From Matthew on The Temptation of Christ –
“Just as metal has to be tested far beyond any stress and strain that it will ever be called upon to bear, before it can be put to any useful purpose, so a man has to be tested before God can use him for His purposes.

The Jews had a saying, “The Holy One, blessed be His name, does not elevate a man to dignity until he has first tried and searched him; and if he stands in temptation, then he is lifted in dignity.”

Now here is a great and uplifting truth. What we call temptation is not meant to make us sin; it is meant to enable us to conquer sin. It is not meant to make us bad, but to make us good. It is not meant to weaken us, but to make us emerge stronger and finer and purer from the ordeal. Temptation is not the penalty of being a man; it is the glory of being a man. So, then – it is the test which comes to a man whom God wishes to use.