Character
“Man looks at the outward appearance, buy the Lord looks at the heart.”
1Samuel 16:7b
As for those who seemed important—whatever they were makes no difference to me. God does not judge by external appearance— Galatians 2:6a
“Character is chiseled into beauty by the daily discipline and daily duties done.” My children would be quick to tell you that my definition of what is beautiful is quite often downright odd. I find beauty in places where other people see none. This quote is not about physical beauty. It is about the beauty that comes from being fully devoted to Christ. The discipline spoken of here is the daily yielding to the movements of the Holy Spirit. It is the cheerful handing over of the reins of our lives to the One who is far better equipped to steer us.
The beauty spoken of here is what comes after flint faced resignation has given way to wholehearted devotion. Can we still backslide? Yes! Can we still stumble and even fall? Certainly! But character, built by daily devotion to Jesus, shows itself as beautiful when after dusting off our little pants, we admit our faults and begin again.
It isn’t easy, especially when we revisit the same sins over and over again. Each time we escape we have a new plan. There is no way that same demon is going to get us, until it does. Ugh! Now not only do I carry the weight of sin, I carry the weight of repeated failure as well. If I succumb to those feelings my character will not develop well. If I accept that God applauds the efforts made and renews me, restoring me to right relationship with Him, showering me with grace to try again, then my character starts to take shape in the right way. It is the willingness to admit my faults and try again, returning to what I know to be right that show my character development.
So where’s the beauty? It is formed by the knowledge of the love of Christ. It is born of the love that he showed to us, long before we ever choose to live for him. On the outside I may look the same but watch my interactions with others, look at the way I handle adversity and see if you see beauty there. If I’m living well, you should.
Years ago our family knew a young girl who was not beautiful by worldly standards. In fact she was rather odd looking. To me she was beautiful and my children were terrible to me when I said so. They laughed! They didn’t see what I saw. My boys saw a plain Jane with bug eyes and a big nose. They saw a girl they would never want to date. My daughter got it a little better but she still very gently pointed out to me that the girl really couldn’t be seen as pretty let alone beautiful. Wrong! She had a smile that could light up the darkest room and when she walked, well, she didn’t so much walk as float/bounce. It seemed that her feet barely touched the floor. I saw a young woman so filled with the love of God that she wasn’t quite attached to this world. That is character chiseled into beauty. Her actions, words and behaviors all pointed outward and upward toward God. She was and I guess still is, a beautiful girl. I would say, she looked a lot like her Father, our Father.
The mirror tells one story but I pray that day after day, good decision after good decision, one obedient act at a time my life will tell a much better one. I hope my character is being chiseled into beauty.
1Samuel 16:7b
As for those who seemed important—whatever they were makes no difference to me. God does not judge by external appearance— Galatians 2:6a
“Character is chiseled into beauty by the daily discipline and daily duties done.” My children would be quick to tell you that my definition of what is beautiful is quite often downright odd. I find beauty in places where other people see none. This quote is not about physical beauty. It is about the beauty that comes from being fully devoted to Christ. The discipline spoken of here is the daily yielding to the movements of the Holy Spirit. It is the cheerful handing over of the reins of our lives to the One who is far better equipped to steer us.
The beauty spoken of here is what comes after flint faced resignation has given way to wholehearted devotion. Can we still backslide? Yes! Can we still stumble and even fall? Certainly! But character, built by daily devotion to Jesus, shows itself as beautiful when after dusting off our little pants, we admit our faults and begin again.
It isn’t easy, especially when we revisit the same sins over and over again. Each time we escape we have a new plan. There is no way that same demon is going to get us, until it does. Ugh! Now not only do I carry the weight of sin, I carry the weight of repeated failure as well. If I succumb to those feelings my character will not develop well. If I accept that God applauds the efforts made and renews me, restoring me to right relationship with Him, showering me with grace to try again, then my character starts to take shape in the right way. It is the willingness to admit my faults and try again, returning to what I know to be right that show my character development.
So where’s the beauty? It is formed by the knowledge of the love of Christ. It is born of the love that he showed to us, long before we ever choose to live for him. On the outside I may look the same but watch my interactions with others, look at the way I handle adversity and see if you see beauty there. If I’m living well, you should.
Years ago our family knew a young girl who was not beautiful by worldly standards. In fact she was rather odd looking. To me she was beautiful and my children were terrible to me when I said so. They laughed! They didn’t see what I saw. My boys saw a plain Jane with bug eyes and a big nose. They saw a girl they would never want to date. My daughter got it a little better but she still very gently pointed out to me that the girl really couldn’t be seen as pretty let alone beautiful. Wrong! She had a smile that could light up the darkest room and when she walked, well, she didn’t so much walk as float/bounce. It seemed that her feet barely touched the floor. I saw a young woman so filled with the love of God that she wasn’t quite attached to this world. That is character chiseled into beauty. Her actions, words and behaviors all pointed outward and upward toward God. She was and I guess still is, a beautiful girl. I would say, she looked a lot like her Father, our Father.
The mirror tells one story but I pray that day after day, good decision after good decision, one obedient act at a time my life will tell a much better one. I hope my character is being chiseled into beauty.
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