The Character of Christ

In my study today I came across this thought provoking quote:

"Man's chief concern in life should not be the acquiring of gold or fame, or of material possessions. It should not be the development of physical prowess, nor of intellectual strength, but his aim, the highest in life, should be the development of a Christ-like character." - David O. McKay

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I have a lot of dreams and goals for my life. This quote sums up for me what should be my number one thing I seek in life: gaining a Christ-like character.

Where do I start? Well I think it goes back to better coming to know Christ and His character, and centering my life around him. A recent message from Pres. Uctdorf talked about how people actually will walk in circles when they have no point of reference to focus on. It is the same figuratively in our lives; if we have no focus point we will live life walking in circles. I want my focus point to be the Savior, to be constantly moving towards Him.

My studies will be focused on the Savior's character in the next few days. At first when I started this study today I had trouble finding anything directly related to the "character of Christ." However, when I opened up the New Testament, I realized that it seems almost every page is packed with attributes of our loving Savior. I am excited to dig into these in the next few days and strive to come to better know my Savior.

Scriptures:

• John 8:11 This is where Christ tells the adulterer "Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more." I love this story. It is dear to my heart. While I have never committed adultery, I have made countless, painful, hurtful mistakes. It is easy for me to feel unworthy and unloved by such a perfect being as the Savior. Yet, he handled this situation with such kindness and mercy. I know that when I come to Him with my red stains, He in His mercy can make me clean and pure.

          His merciful heart also makes me realize the need for me to be merciful to others always. It is easy to    want to "cast stones" so to speak as we see the mistakes and problems of others, especially when those mistakes hurt us. I believe the Savior is hurt by sin, yet, he did not let His hurt dictate whether or not He was merciful. I can strive to be like Him by being merciful to others in their personal striving to overcome.

• John 8:28 and 50 (and many other verses I am sure to uncover) Christ is the picture of humility. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I love attention, I love being the center of attention, I love "wowing" people. Christ, who was loved and adored by many, was constantly pointing everything back to His Father in Heaven. Nothing was about Him. He didn't seek to make people think "Wow, what a guy" and if anyone ever did he would talk about His Father and how He was doing what He wanted Him to do. To God be the Glory. I want to be like that. I want to be like John the Baptist who said of Christ "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). I want to get rid of my selfish, self glorifying ways and always, constantly live a life that points to my Savior.

Questions to ponder:

• How can your life be one that points to the Savior?
• What are some of the characteristics of Christ that you personally have witnessed in your life?