A Journey In Developing A Christ-Like Character

Many of us enjoy sharing stories of our life. While sharing life events with others, we can be tempted to slant the narrative just a bit to emphasize our heroic involvement, our innocence or how we were a victim in the situation.

Most of us are “work in progress” related to “Christ-like” personal character development as demonstrated by the way we live and tell the stories of our life.

John Edwards, while campaigning as a 2008 Presidential candidate, had an adulterous affair with a campaign worker which he denied and later acknowledged.

In an interview, Edwards stated, “I made a very serious mistake.”

How John told his story revealed a lot about his character. John didn’t make a mistake, he sinned.

I’m reminded of a story about a judge visiting a prison. Inmates attempted to convince the judge they were unjustly imprisoned. One of the inmates told the judge he was guilty of armed robbery and deserved his punishment. After hearing this confession, the judge said, “Release this guilty man, I don’t want him corrupting all these innocent people.”

How this “guilty man” told his story revealed a lot about his character. He was guilty and he acknowledged his guilt.

In Exodus 32, the Israelites asked Aaron to make a gold calf to worship as they became impatient with Moses being on Mt. Sinai for a long time. Aaron told the Israelites to give him the gold earrings they were wearing. Aaron took the gold, fashioned it with a tool into the shape of a calf as an idol.

When Moses discovered the Israelites were worshiping a golden calf, he asked Aaron to explain his sinful actions. Aaron’s response was to remind Moses how evil the Israelites were, sidestepping his personal responsibility in making the idol.

Then Aaron created an alternative version of the story by saying he simply threw the gold into a fire and out came a calf!

How Aaron told his story tells us a lot about his character. He blamed others for being evil and lied about his actions.

In Jonah 1, God told Jonah to preach in Nineveh, Jonah ran away and boarded a ship going in the opposite direction. While on this ship, God sent a great storm. The storm threatened to break up and sink the ship. The sailors asked Jonah, “who is responsible for making all this trouble?” Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” As the sea was getting rougher, the sailors asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” Jonah replied, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

How Jonah told his story by acknowledging it was his fault tells us a lot about his character. He was brutally honest.

Aaron and Jonah revealed a lot about their character in the Bible.

As we faithfully develop a “Christlike character,” it will be revealed in the way we live and tell the stories of our life.

A prayer to help on our journey: “Our Father in Heaven; give us a ‘Christlike character,’ forgive our past, give us strength to resist Satan’s tactics and pour over us grace and mercy only available through Jesus Christ. Amen.”

— Dennis R. Hixson of Fayetteville is a husband, father, teacher, business leader, author and mentor. Currently Dennis teaches an adult Bible class at Prairie Grove Christian Church and Practical Biblical Application class at the Fayetteville Salvation Army, Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program. Send comments and questions to: inmylife4@gmail.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.