Can you see the resemblance?

John 15:9-11 (New International Version)
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Recently I was on vacation a thousand miles from home when I started a conversation with a woman in line next to me. Detecting a bit of Dixie in her voice, I asked where she was from and when she answered Arkansas, I told her I was from Benton. She was too and she was just sure I looked familiar. I mentioned nephews and she named them both. Just like that. Stunned, I looked at her and she said, “Are you Greg’s sister?” I am. And for 37 years, I’ve answered that same question in a variety of forms.

And that’s not bad. As a little girl, I was sure he was the best athlete, the most popular guy, and the funniest person in the room. As an adult, I haven’t seen anything to change my mind. He’s a good person, a generous man, a great father, and a good brother. I do sometimes feel like saying, “No, he’s my brother.” It’s a fine distinction. Maybe I grit my teeth through my smile, but most of the time I feel pretty proud when people see the resemblance. When someone knows my brother, I feel like they may also know something about me and the kind of person I am. I’d like to be more like him in several ways.

I think the key to growing more alike is spending time together. I know you have friends who can finish your sentences because you’ve spent enough time together. They know how you think. My brother and I look alike. For people to identify me with Christ, we need to think alike.

Have you ever spent time with someone that really makes you see Christ? Maybe you could be having a “killing time in line” conversation with them and walk away feeling like you’ve spent time with Christ? I have. And I’m impressed every time it happens.

Because I know Christ, I know something about that Christ-like woman sitting across the table from me. I know and see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control. If you’re like me and would call yourself a Christ follower but aren’t quite sure that the casual observer would see the resemblance to your Father, it’s okay. You and I, we can improve. I have patience issues. I’m fairly sure standing next to me in line is no worship experience, but I can get better, closer to Christ. I want people to see the resemblance between my Father and me. Each minute I spend with Christ and keeping his commandments and following his teachings, I grow more like Him. And maybe the next time I’m in a line somewhere, someone will say to me “You look so familiar. Are you a Christian?” and I will nod and say “Yes, I am.”

Cheryl

Remember Your First Love?

We all remember the first time we fell in love. It was a beautiful time of fantasy and romance—or at least it seems so in our minds.

My earliest memory of first love was with a boy in my fifth grade class named Scott. Even though he didn’t know I existed, I slept with our class picture under my pillow several times just to feel he was near.

I also remember when I first fell in love with God. I was a senior in high school and was feeling a hole in my heart that I realized could only be filled Him. And I was crazy in love with Him. I couldn’t get enough time in the Bible and prayer and telling others about my newfound love.

Nearly forty years later I’m finding myself asking God to renew that love I first found back in 1972. In many ways I have forgotten that first love. I have asked God to restore in me the love that changed my life in such a dramatic way. To remind me of what my life was like before I knew Him in a personal way and how my life has changed because of that decision I made.

How about you? Have you forgotten your first love for Christ or forgotten what He has done for you?

Here is an exercise you can use to help you remember how God has worked in your life, and what type of relationship you’ve had with Him.

1. What was my life like before I accepted Christ?

2. What did my life revolve around? What did I get my happiness from?

3. When was the first time I heard the gospel? Or when was I exposed to dynamic Christianity

4. When did I begin to see my own need for God in my own life? What were some circumstances that were happening in my life at the time?

5. How did my life change after I became a Christian? How is my life different now because of that decision?

By doing this exercise I hope it shows you once again the mighty power of God working in your life. And I hope that, as we remember what God’s love is for us, we will be so crazy in love with Him that we can’t keep our love to ourselves. We’ll share with others what God has done. And that is a lot better than sticking the love of your life picture under your pillow.

Merry Boehi