To Build Noble Characters

[Daily Devotional]

To Build Noble Characters 

And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. John 1: 16, R.
S. V. 

God expects us to build characters in accordance with the Pattern set before
us. We are to lay brick by brick, adding grace to grace, finding our weak
points and correcting them in accordance with the directions given. When a
crack is seen in the walls of a mansion, we know that something about the
building is wrong. In our character building, cracks are often seen. Unless
these defects are remedied, the house will fall when the tempest of trial
beats upon it. 

God gives us strength, reasoning power, time, in order that we may build
characters on which He can place His stamp of approval. He desires each
child of His to build a noble character, by the doing of pure, noble deeds,
that in the end He may present a symmetrical structure, a fair temple,
honored by man and God. 

A noble all- round character is not inherited. It does not come to us by
accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the
merits and grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind;
we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self.
Conflict after conflict must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We
shall have to criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one unfavorable
trait to remain uncorrected. 

By the life we live through the grace of Christ the character is formed. The
original loveliness begins to be restored to the soul. The attributes of the
character of Christ are imparted, and the image of the Divine begins to
shine forth. The faces of men and women who walk and work with God express
the peace of heaven. They are surrounded with the atmosphere of heaven. For
these souls the kingdom of God has begun. They have Christ's joy, the joy of
being a blessing to humanity. They have the honor of being accepted for the
Master's use; they are trusted to do His work in His name. 

As God is pure in His sphere, so man is to be pure in his. And he will be
pure if Christ is formed within, the hope of glory; for he will imitate
Christ's life and reflect His character. 

>From God's Amazing Grace - Page 111