“...be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.” 1 Peter 1:10
The above title can be used for describing jovial or even the dubious behaviours of certain people. But the word character is also used to describe a person’s persona, or a person’s identity. A person’s character is formed over time through all the actions and reactions to circumstances of life. This means our whole lives are building a character according to how we respond to different occurrences in life. A person’s character is so important and influential that J. R. Miller once rightly said: “The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a man. What a man is survives him. It can never be buried.” [Grace Quotes]
So, we should ask ourselves, ‘what kind of character am I forming?’
This is a vital question for the believer because we have in us a new nature in Christ that needs be nurtured and fed to produce a persona, a character that bears the image of Christ. (2 Cor. 3:18)
Is that the character we are moulding and manifesting? There are numbers of tests that will tell us if we are on the right track. I like this simple but true statement of Henry Ward Beecher: “The test of Christian character should be that a man is a joy-bearing agent to the world.” Now that’s a good start! Are we characterised by being those who manifest joy - joy in the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in our homes, marriages, families, and workplaces?
One’s character can never be disguised for long. It will be like cream on milk, it will soon rise to the top. Or as someone said; “Character can never be summoned in a moment of crisis, if it has been squandered through years of compromise and rationalisation.” [Grace Quotes]
May we pursue & develop in us, God’s holy character by immersing ourselves in whatever is true, honourable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. [Phil 4:8]