The first three chapters of Genesis give us a detailed account of the creation of this world and the creation of man. What is quite clear is the perfection of God's creation; everything was good. Man being created in God's image was good, sinless and in harmony with his Creator. What we then proceed to witness is the degeneration of the human race from perfection to moral abasement. This is called "The Fall of Man".
One of the goals of the Christian life is to get to know God, to know and impregnate oneself with His character, to learn how to resemble to Him, to forge oneself to and become His image. A Christian person will have succeeded his life if he arrives to incarnate the characters of God.
When we talk about "Reflecting the Character of God", in the beginning that was not a problem, but with the fall of mankind in Genesis, reflecting God's character became a little more difficult. For us to reflect God's character we first need to know God's character...
First - God's nature defines moral values. He did not merely "invent" them. Nor are they something we are "free" to define for ourselves. A righteous or upright moral character is a reflection of God's character; a depraved or corrupt moral character is anything that goes against, or is contrary to, God's character.
Second - Our values influence conduct. What you believe will influence what you do. You may be able to hide your true values, character and motives for a while; but when you do so, you merely introduce another character trait into your life - hypocrisy! And you cannot hide it forever: In the end, the day will come in which your true character will be exposed and known to all (1 Timothy 5:24).
Third - To truly understand the very Character of God, we then need to base our life on the following attributes:
- God is love (1 John 4:8). God is the great lover of people - even people that have been corrupted by sin. He cares about us, He is patient and kind with us, He has good plans for us. (Jer. 29:13)
- God is Holy (Ps 99.3). Holiness is spiritual beauty. It is also total moral uprightness and separation from all that is unclean or evil. Like a diamond in the light with many faces, each of God's attributes shines out in perfect balance. There is no defect in God's character or nature.
- God is righteous (honest, impartial, fair). (Deut 33.24; Ps. 116.5). What he does is always right and fair from a moral point of view. As Judge of all the earth, God is a just judge. He judges with fairness, knowing all the facts and all the intentions of the heart. (Rom 2.16)
- God is good (Ps 136:1). He wants good things for people and for the universe. Jesus did the will of the Father, doing good and healing those who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38). However, God does not force people to be good, and it is because of the evil in people that there is suffering in the world.
- God is truthful & has integrity as does His Word (Num 23.19; John 17:17).
- God is faithful (keeps his promises). 2Tim 2.13.
- God alone is wise in Himself (Rom 16.27) - that is, he knows what He is doing and is doing it in the best way. Any wisdom we may have received comes from God, not from our own independent creativity. Wisdom is knowledge correctly applied to achieve the right purpose.
- God is forgiving and kind by nature (1 Jn 1:9; Pr 28:13; Matt 5:45). He blesses even His enemies at times and longs that his kindness will lead them to repentance so that He can forgive them. (Rom. 2:4)
CONCLUSION: To relate with God properly we must understand that He loves us, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11.6). We should not believe the world - not the world's view of God, the teachings of religious tradition or our own philosophies or imaginations. We should always strive to seek God's direction for our lives and in turn "Reflect His Character" to others.
