Character

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.

John 2:1-5 ESV

In my time of study these last few weeks, one word has been playing over and over in my mind, and that is character. By definition, the character of a person is a feature or trait, their individual nature, or moral or ethical quality. In basic terms it’s the very core of a person, the premise on which you build your life.

The story above lets us know who knew the very character of Jesus the best during this time, His mother. At a seemingly normal wedding the wine runs out, and this catches the attention of Mary. Immediately she goes to Jesus, and explains what has happened. Jesus, rather quickly but respectfully, lets her know that this really has nothing to do with Him because His hour has not yet come. What I want to focus on is the fact that Mary then turns to the servants and tells them to do whatever Jesus asks them to do. Did she not hear what He just said to her, and how did she know that He could/would even perform a miracle? Simple, she knew His character. She understood things about Jesus that very few people had experienced yet.

So how did she know His character so well? She spent time with Him. I know it may seem that she had an unfair advantage seeing as she birthed and raised Him, but that’s the beautiful thing about the cross and salvation. Jesus bore our sin so that we could approach Him for ourselves now, and that means unlimited access to the One with flawless character.

To have the faith required to withstand life’s fiercest storms, we must understand God’s character. It goes beyond skimming His word, and a halfhearted attempt to build relationship. We have to dive in and dig deep. This type of understanding demands diligence, discipline and desire. Furthermore, it transcends having “smarts” and obtaining head knowledge. It’s a matter of the heart, and it will require you to wade into the unknown. We see this in the life of Peter, who took a few more brave steps than the other disciples, and the result was him responding to an important question “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16).

Understanding God’s true and full character is not a destination you reach, but a lifelong journey. There will be setbacks, questions and certainly struggles, but no greater reward is there in this life than to daily come to know more about Him!