| 1 John 3:18 – “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but indeed and in truth.” |
There are many things in life we value. But most come down to a single word–character.
Yousuf Karsh said that character is like a photograph. It develops in the darkness.
Or as someone else has said, “character is what you are when no one is looking.”
As with some of the more important elements of life, it is easier to describe than define. What does character look like?
To answer that, I want to go to an old man.
The father of the famous philosopher Immanuel Kant was a stooped man making a journey through the forests of Poland to his home of Silesia.
On his way, he was confronted by robbers.
They demanded all that he had.
The old man gave up all that he could think of, being rattled by the encounter.
“Have you given us everything?” demanded the robbers.
“All” said the old man.
They let him go but threatened to kill him if he told anyone about them.
After the thieves had gone a few hundred yards, the old man’s wits returned to him. He felt something graze his shin. It was then he remembered he had sewed a bag of gold into the hem of his robe years before.
He picked up his pace and hurried to the robbers.
“I told you what was not true; it was unintentional because I was too terrified to think. Here, take the gold in my robe as he held up the hem.
The robbers did something unexpected. None made a move to cut the gold free. Instead, one went to the horse, dug into the saddlebag, and returned to the man his purse of money and his book of prayers.
Even these thieves could recognize character.
The apostle John, as an old man, had seen many kinds of people.
Some had a great profession of their faith.
But others were different. They showed their faith and love in daily life without thinking much about it.
So, he writes about what Christian character looks like: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but indeed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)
Do people recognize Christian character in what you do?
–Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
