Character Counts

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Scripture

But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

 ~Psalm 86:15, NLT

Quote

God’s mercy is not an occasional mood. It is a part of His unchanging character.

~Stephen Charnock

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When it comes to character, there is no comparing our character to God’s. It reminds of the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph was the only member of the family that had any character, at least in terms of the males {12 sons of Jacob}. Joseph, by the grace of God, was a cut above. He was honest to a fault. His brothers were all liars. You could not believe anything they said whereas Joseph was a reliable witness which is why Jacob used him to spy on his wicked brothers. To make a long story short, Joseph’s brothers were hooligans, thugs and outlaws. They were guilty of rape, murder, pillage and were cruel to both animals and humans. Simeon and Levi cut one leg off of a an ox just to see if it could walk on three legs. When they threw Joseph into the pit, he begged them to let him out but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Now fast forward twenty years: Joseph is Prime Minister of Egypt, or you might say, the manager of the biggest Kroger in the known world, and the eleven outlaws need food. Knowing what they did to him, Joseph gives them food and forgiveness. The question is two-fold: why and how? Joseph was able to forgive them and feed them because of his character: Joseph was a good man; a righteous man who always did the right thing. The brothers got the food and forgiveness that they did not deserve because of Joseph’s character.

Do you see the parallel. You and I recieve good gifts from out Heavenly Father not because we deserve them but because He is good. Everything we have is due to His character.

Do you ever get down on yourself for being so unchristlike? I fail constantly, He never fails. I am incredibly weak but He is infinitely strong. It is difficult to do at times but we have to focus on His perfections and not our imperfections. Robert Murray M’Cheyne said, “For every look you take of yourself, take ten looks at Jesus.”

  • Mid-week Bible Study tomorrow night at 6:00. James 4 and humility!
  • You’ve probably heard by now that Carol’s sister Margarie does have cancer: pray for Margie and family. While you are at it, remember by buddy Gregg. Yesterday was his chemo day so he will feel bad today. Remember my brother John. He is 83 and suffering from a fall. He is making slight progress.
  • I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog!

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