Godly in Character

In the last week we have paused and celebrated Easter and remembered the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross.

This week as I explore the element of our learner profile Godly in Character, it is helpful to consider Jesus and the example he gives us.

The concept of character itself is quite nebulous. We often struggle to define 'good' character and a good definition can seem just out of reach, but we do know it when we see it.

As parents and teachers, we all desire the young people in our care to develop ‘good’ character and to live ‘good’ and virtuous lives. What does this look like? What are the characteristics that we should instill into our young people.

Here at Green Point Christian College, we narrow our definition by saying that we are seeking to develop students that are Godly in character. Our framing statement is;

We are designed in God's image and fulfil our humanity most when we reflect His characteristics.

So, when we consider character, we begin with the reality that our students are made in the image of the creator God. For us at GPCC this means that all students have inviolable dignity and worth. It is this reality that is our starting point.

This dignity provides a solid foundation on which to begin to build our character and we fulfil our humanity most fully when our character reflects the characteristics of God. This brings us back to Jesus because we see the characteristics of God most clearly articulated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, Gods one and only son.

Jesus embodied character traits such as love, humility, mercy, and grace. He called His disciples to love one another as I have loved you. It was a love that put on the nature of a servant. These kinds of character traits remain largely counter cultural in our world today. Yet it is these traits that we continue to build into our students here at GPCC, because we know that it is the people with these kinds of traits and particularly those that also choose to follow Jesus, that actually have a very real, very deep redemptive and healing impact on this world.

Joel van Bentum
Principal