How mature character develops

Tom Harper Feb. 3, 2025

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As I read the book of Philippians, a verse jumped out to me, screaming to be applied in my life:

"May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteousness character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God."
—Phil. 1:11

I want to bring him glory. Don't you?

This verse says our "righteous" character will result in praise. Seems like a tall order to achieve, but the good news is it says Jesus himself will produce it in us.

My question is how, when and why does he do this? We know how important character is in life and leadership. No integrity or perseverance means no real leadership.

Oh, and one more small, insignificant question … what is character, really?

Other verses describe it as endurance, obedience, confident hope, and our predictable qualities. God himself has a character (see Ps. 103:7, NLT).

If we have been saved from our sins by Jesus, this verse in Philippians says there will be visible results, or fruit. This fruit develops automatically and is a sign that we're in fact saved.

Hebrews 1:3 begins, "The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command."

With Jesus living in us, he radiates God's glory through us. He expresses God's own character in us. This answers my question about how and why Jesus does this—simply by his presence and the fact that he radiates God's glory.

If you are a believer, have you recognized a maturing of your own character? Mine has grown and changed at different times over the decades, usually through hard times.

We never fully get there, but I am encouraged by progress. I hope you are, too.

Still developing,

Tom Harper
Founder, BiblicalLeadership.com
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Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More »

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