Developing Godly Character (pt.1)

(Part 1)

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him is no darkness at all.”

                                                                                    1 John 1:5

To me this passage represents the essence of God’s character. God is light; in Him is no darkness at all. God has no character flaws! That is an idea that is both awesome and intimidating at the same time.

Awesome because we know that according to James 1:17, that the “Father of heavenly lights, does not change like the shifting shadows.” We can trust in the consistency of God’s character. It is perfect, true, and unchanging.

However, God‘s character can be intimidating because of passages like 1 John 2:6:

“Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

God desires for us to be like Him! So, on one hand, we are comforted by the fact that God has no character flaws; however, on the other hand we are made uncomfortable by the fact that we, unlike God, have so many!

How many of you would be honest enough to say that you have character flaws? It is from that place of genuine awareness that we can begin to pursue authentic godly character.

The pursuit of godly character begins with spiritual poverty. It begins with a realistic look at God’s perfection and our imperfection; then aiming our lives towards that which God is calling us; Himself!

None of us can claim to be perfect, but we should be making it our aim. Too often we hide behind idioms like “Nobody is perfect!” as an excuse for not trying.

In 2 Corinthians 13:9, the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth:

“We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.”

The books of First and Second Corinthians deal with all kinds of character flaws manifesting themselves within the church, and yet Paul prays for their perfection.

It was a principle Paul applied to his own life as well:

“Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”

                                                                                                            Philippians 3:12

Someone once said that if you “aim at nothing” you will hit it every time. If we want to develop godly character in our lives, then we must aim for perfection!

 

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/