“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews 12:1 ESV

There are many, many people out there that are really good at their jobs, but they are lacking in the area of character. They may be brilliant at what they do, but nobody can trust them. Maybe they tend to stretch the truth, or they “borrow money from the till” – the bottom line is that they lack in character and it will end up stunting their growth and their progress. Most people only care about the end result of their actions – the end justifies the means, they would say – but God isn’t only interested in you achieving your goals. He is interested in howyou get there. We’ve all got a course or path to follow; we’ve all got something to accomplish, and the writer of Hebrews encourages us to “run with patience.” Patience is a character issue and it’s a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Christ which every believer possesses when they become a believer. But we don’t express the character of Christ automatically – as we grow in our relationship with the Lord and discover who we are in Christ, we are able to begin living out what God has put inside of us.  

The Christian life is not about trying to become someone or something. It’s about discovery; discovering who you are in Christ and what He’s done for you. The more you discover about your new identity in Christ, the more you will transform and grow in your character. Your destiny and purpose in life has more to do with who you are than what you do. You are called to be before your doanything. When we start realizing that we have the character of Christ (the fruit of the Spirit) in us, we can start to mature and grow in living out the character of Christ, and we come to represent Him more effectively as we grow.

Jesus said:

“Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other.”
John 13:35 GW

God is love (1 John 4:8). Love is who He is. You cannot take love out of God and be left with God. That also means that whenever we come into contact with God, we come into contact with love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). When we become Christians we become completely new people (2 Corinthians 5:17). That change has taken place in our spirits, and if we allow it to change our thinking it will transform our lives (Romans 12:1-2). When we become Christians, God comes to live inside of us – love comes to live inside of us (1 Corinthians 6:19). When we realize that we are now one (1 Corinthians 6:17) with Love (God), and as we experience this amazing unconditional love, it will transform our lives and people around us will begin to experience God’s love through us.

You need to choose to love others, but this choice is well worth it. Love is a powerful character trait that will help you in relationships with others and ultimately help you to walk in your destiny.