Still Working At It

Your Human Characteristics:

Of all the human characteristics, which one do you hear the least about? I think we all have human characteristics that we look for in ourselves and in others. The ones we like are the ones we work on. In fact I would go so far as to say that the number one characteristic most envied is the one everyone works on. In life we need to encourage people to work on anything in life that you personally like the most.

What are some of them? First in my mind would be; 'faithful'. This can be in every relationship we have in our lives and that is probably why I think its number one. You need to be a friend to have a friend. Which leads into what could be number one but I have put it number two; 'honesty'. This is probably the one most worked on in life by most people. But at times, we fail miserably. Personally I get bent out of shape when someone calls me a liar.

But honesty is connected intrinsically with 'integrity'. Do you stand up for what you stand up for? There are times when this shows through another characteristic and that is 'courage' to stand up for what you believe. This is most evident in us when we not only believe in Jesus Christ as God's one and only Son but we can defend our faith Christ.

We add to these, others that you might connect to; patience, integrity, passion, optimism, self-confidence, humble and many more that are going through your head. But I believe there is one that not many of us think about. You see, all the above seem to relate to making us good to great people or just make us look good. But one that focuses on the world outside ourselves is 'compassion'.

For me, the picture I see in my dictionary is the one and only Jesus Christ. So I ask you and myself, when was the last time I personally had deep sympathy for someone I didn't know? Open your bible and read about Jesus' characteristic in Hebrews 4:15; "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but One who has been tested in all things as we are, yet without sin."

There was; the women at the well, Zacchaeus, the crowd who were hungry, His executioners, the sinner on the cross beside Him, and me? The song goes, "When He was on the cross, I was on His mind."

Something to think about

Rob