What is Character?
Web defines character as: An honest person, a person of courage, a person with moral and ethical excellence, a person with good reputation or a person of integrity.
The Bible says,
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth” (In Genesis 1:26).
The word “image” means Character and the word “Dominion” means Authority or Power.
The initial gift bestowed upon Adam by God in Genesis 1:26 was not dominion, but rather the image of His character. This signifies that God prioritizes the development of one’s character before bestowing divine power (dominion), contrary to common belief. It is worth noting that in Genesis 1:26, when it pertains to power or dominion, God simply granted it, whereas when addressing the image or character, God proclaimed “let us make…”. The term “make” denotes a process of construction, assembly, creation, formation, or fashioning.
God will build your character before He gives you power because without Godly character, power will destroy you and everyone around you.
In Acts 1:8, the Bible says,
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”.
Before the disciples of Jesus Christ were filled with the power of God in Acts 1:8, they spent three and a half years with Jesus prior. They passed through the process, their characters were reshaped and they passed through trials and various tests before they received the power to fulfill their divine assignment.
Jesus took His time to build the disciples character before instructing them to wait in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4). He will do the same with you because He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
In Jeremiah chapter 18, the Bible says that “God is like a potter and we are like the clay”. The potter takes His time to form, fashion, construct or build the clay.
Character is something that takes time to build. Jesus started His ministry at the age of 30 and it lasted for 3.5 years. In other words, God took 30 years to build His character for a ministry that lasted only 3.5 years.
God is love (1 John 4:8), God is truth ( John 16:13), God is compassionate ( Matthew 9:36), God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-17). The Minister of the Lord must yield to the Holy Spirit to reshape their character to reflect the character of God.
The individual must possess a genuine affection for others, consistently communicate with honesty, demonstrate empathy towards those in need, adhere to a virtuous lifestyle, and exhibit sincerity in their interactions. It is imperative that they uphold a positive reputation and display unwavering integrity.
I pray that you will yield to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in refining your character, thereby becoming a vessel of distinction, prepared for utilization by God to achieve His divine purpose. Through this, you will attain a profound inner satisfaction that can be bestowed only by God.
Author: Andrew A. Osei.
