Nobility of character

Below is a very encouraging and thought-provoking forum post written by a good friend of mine... quite on the contrary to my earlier post.

"Softness is probably something that'll kill us, At times we must learn to be ruthless with ourselves at times. Affections, desires, appetites; all must be dealt with discipline. Even love must be disciplined, or we will love what will kill us. Discipline requires toughness.

Jesus was a perfect balance of the tender and tough. He revealed His tenderness in His messages of love, His actions of healing and comfort, and ultimately His death on the cross. Indecisive creates instability -- a man who straddles the fence will get badly hurt when he falls. It's dangerous. "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1:8) Second guessing reflects a lack of confidence in a decision already made. If a decision/action is made and it proves to have been at fault/wrong, admit it, repent from it, learn from it, and go on from that point. Crying over spilt milk, living with regret, or carrying past mistakes are all wrong. Living with past mistakes is a mistake in itself. If God forgives us, but we do not forgive ourselves, we make ourselves greater than Him. Wisely forgetting the past is part of our spiritual growth. Once forgiven it is to be wisely forgotten. Wisely forgetting is not putting it out of our minds, it is never again holding that sin against the person. No matter how hurt you are, never allow a seed of bitterness to arise from your soul, don't poison your soul, take it up in prayer to God.

Jesus was a fearless leader, defeating Satan, casting out demons, commanding nature, rebuking hypocrites. He had a nobility of character and a full complement of virtues which can be reproduced in us today -- by the same Holy Spirit that dwelt in Him... Thank you Jesus for what You did for us on the cross." (Edited by Jan)