1 John 3: 1- 2 NKJV
I remember growing up in small town Minnesota and feeling as if there was nowhere I could go without someone knowing who I was. For my father was a well known county deputy sheriff, and his two sons were pretty well known as well. In a town as small as which we lived, everybody knew everyone else. It wasn't so much that I was all too important in town as a child, but it was just who my father was. Back then, I was rarely known as Scott, but more as sheriff Marks kid. Of course, this has it's ups and downs. It's good to be well respected, but not so good when your every move eventually gets back to your parents. Not a good thing for a young kid bent on having a good time. However, there was something more than just my dad being a county official which I learned as I grew up. As I grew older, suddenly I wasn't recognized for what my father did, but for who he was. Now when I went around town, one of the first things people would say was, "Hey, you have alot of your dad in you." No longer was I associated with what my dad did, but by his characteristics. As I grew, I now began to resemble him in ways others recognized. In fact, my grandparents made it a habit to tell me just how much I resembled their son. For good or bad, I carried that genetic connection to my own father. No matter how hard I have tried to assert my own independence, I will always be my fathers son. This is something we all have, those characteristics, appearances and habits which we inherit from our parents. This remains part of who we are as people. It is also along these lines that we resemble our heavenly Father as well. For there are aspects of our Lord which He has instilled in His children, things which are unique to Him but not to all His creation. This we share with our Father.
26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over gall the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1: 26 - 27 NKJV
One thing I have found difficult to comprehend about my kinship with my heavenly Father is what we find in the creation story in the book of Genesis. For here the story of our Lords creation is laid out for all to see. Here our connection and familial relationship with our heavenly Father is first brought into focus. As Gods children, we have been created in the very image of our Father. Growing up, people would definately see the characteristics of my father in me. I was his son. Indeed, being Gods children, we also share those characteristics which are unique to our heavenly Father, for we are created in His image. Like most, I failed in my attempt to understand just what my resemblence to my heavenly Father truly was. Did I resemble His physical appearance, does God have a physical appearance? My understanding was based on my common understanding of physical resemblence, yet this may not be the image of God in which we were created. So, what traits of our heavenly Father have we inherited? What is it which makes us resemble our creator? Well, Dennis had a interesting perspective this morning, as he always does. For in all of Gods creation, we are the only only ones who share a unique characteristic of God, that of having a choice. We can choose to do something, we can choose to go somewhere or we can even choose to accept Christ Jesus. Looking across our Lords creation, I cannot see the freedom to choose exemplified but for Gods children. So it is that it is not our heavenly Fathers physical appearance in which we were created, but by His characteristics. This is our family resemblence. This is how we resemble our Father in heaven. This is our DNA.
~Scott~
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