I have been reflecting on my life, and while doing so, I realised that I have been set on doing things my way instead of God’s way.
After a while, I realised that my heart was being hardened. It was really subtle.
I was slowly turning away from God. And if I wasn’t careful, I knew that I would eventually drift away without even realising.
So I started listening to more sermons because I knew I had to renew my mind. But I didn’t feel like reading the Bible.
While listening to one of the sermons, the Pastor recalled the events that happened when Job in the Bible was going through His trials.
He shared the events that took place when Satan got the opportunity to touch everything in Job’s life. In one day, Satan decided to kill the oxen, donkeys, sheep, camel, servants and all his children!
Job lost all of these things in one day!
And this just shows you how merciless, inconsiderate and evil the enemy is.
And after listening to that sermon, I really sat and thought about what happened in Job’s life.
The One Question
As I reflected, I realised that my actions reflect the nature of either God or Satan.
And that’s when I started to think whose nature do I want to reflect in my daily life?
This has been the one question that I have been using to guide my decisions daily.
Whose nature do I want to reflect?
When I get upset, and I want to say the first thing that comes to my mind, I stop and think, “Whose nature do I want to reflect?”
Do I really want to reflect the nature of Satan?
The reality is that the nature you reflect shows who is influencing you.
And after thinking about how Satan really destroyed everything Job had in ONE DAY, I realised that I don’t want to be associated with that nature at all. I don’t want to be inconsiderate, merciless, uncompassionate or evil.
I would much rather reflect the nature of God.
What is the Nature of God?
If you don’t know the nature of God, then let’s look at Galatians 5:22-23, and you will realise what God is like.
This Bible passage shows the fruit of the Spirit, which reveals the nature of God.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things!
So when you show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, you’re showing the world what the nature of God is like.
Being a better Christian means that you are becoming more like Jesus Christ.
If you want to become more like Christ, then the fruit of the Spirit has to be more evident in your life.
And that means that your choices and actions need to reflect love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
So before you act and whenever you have a decision to make, ask yourself, “Whose nature do I want to reflect?”
And if you choose to reflect Christ’s nature, then you will be a better Christian and a light that points others to God.
Practical Examples
When you’re angry and want to yell and say mean things about the person or insult their intelligence, stop and ask yourself, “Whose nature do I want to reflect?”
And this doesn’t mean that you can’t address issues that upset you. But you want to make sure you are addressing the issue in a calm and collected way that gets the point across clearly.
And you can establish boundaries and expectations instead of attacking the person’s character or intelligence.
I know this will take practice, especially in face-to-face interactions. It’s much easier to stop and think when you’re texting because you have more time to process your response. So ask the Lord to help you to have self-control and to show gentleness.
When you make a promise or commitment but you don’t feel like following through with it, stop and ask yourself, “Whose nature do I want to reflect?”
Choosing to follow through reflects the nature of God because it shows integrity and faithfulness. God is the Ultimate Promise Keeper. So try not to make promises that you can’t keep.
And when you can help someone, try to do so because it reflects God’s nature of love and kindness.
Those are just some examples of times when we get to choose whose nature we want to reflect. There are many other cases, and as they arise, remember to ask yourself, “Whose nature do I want to reflect?”
Takeaway
Remember that when we reflect God’s nature, we are giving Him glory, which is the very reason for our existence. We were created to glorify God….to show the world what God is really like. And you can do that in your everyday actions.
You can post this question as a daily reminder on your mirror, refrigerator, phone screensaver or anywhere else that you look at daily.