Let’s take a little bit of time to do a ‘character health check’. There are a so many things we could look at, but here’s three. First, how approachable are we? When talking about the Pharisees, Jesus said, ‘they love the place of honour…they love…to be called “Rabbi” by others’ (Matthew 23:6-7 NIVUK). In Jesus’ day some rabbis had the idea that true spirituality required you to distance yourself from people. Ironically, the only Rabbi the outcasts could touch turned out to be God Himself. Jesus was the most approachable person they’d ever met. The next thing is grace. How gracious are we? We can often end up thinking that we’re in some kind of contest. We compare ourselves to others and judge them. We decide if we’re going to invest in people or not by deciding whether they’re too much for us to take on or whether they’ve got anything they can offer us. We need to be working towards being gracious to other people. Accepting that they’re not perfect and avoiding being judgemental. The final question is: How real are we? In other words, how much integrity do we have? Are we the same person in all situations, and with all people, or are we changing ourselves to fit in? Are we trying to make ourselves sound more spiritual than we are to impress others? Are we avoiding vulnerability with anyone to keep up our image? Let’s be real with ourselves, and with others, instead. And when we’re letting ourselves be approachable, gracious and real, we show others who Jesus is. They get a glimpse of Him through us. Exactly the kind of Christian we’re called to be.

What now?
Give yourself a rating out of 10 for each of these three questions: ‘How approachable am I?’ ‘How gracious am I?’ ‘How real am I?’ Then grab a close friend and get them to rate you. Ask them why they chose those ratings. Any surprises? Any areas you need to improve?