Our Footsteps: Whose Child Are You?

Monday, September 15, 2008

Whose Child Are You?

Some people think my boys resemble me very much. I see the resemblance of course. They even act like me sometimes. That can be good... and it can be bad too. I hope they only inherit the good traits and leave the bad ones behind.

We had a very vivid and effective word picture presented to us in church yesterday. Several moms, several dads were called up to the front along with their daughters or sons. The speaker was showing us the resemblance of the child to his or her parent. Immediately we all simultaneously knew what path the pastor was headed. He proceeded to give us 4 traits of resemblance in relation to the Christian and their Heavenly Father.
1). Relationship implies OBEDIENCE. Matthew 12:46-50 - Doing the will of the Father... "If the Bible says it, I obey it".
2). Relationship implies RIGHTEOUSNESS. Matthew 13:24-30;36-43. If you want to resemble the Father, you must practice deeds and attitudes that are righteous. What are these? Joy, meekness, patience, friendliness, integrity, honesty, service, etc...
3). Relationship implies RECONCILIATION. Matthew 6:14-15. God in essence says 'if you're going to be related to me, then hurt and offense needs to be dealt with by reconciliation. Go and make it right. No Christian has the right to hold a grudge. Forgive and forget! Grudges are absolutely sinful and we will never grow in our spiritual lives by holding onto past wrongs...
4). Relations implies COMPASSION. Matthew 5:48. An odd verse for this point. But being perfect means 'intrinsically good'. God is nothing but intrinsically good and unblamable. As a result, He is full of compassion - and we are to be like that. We are to strive to be compassionate, as our Father is compassionate.

If we are practicing these things, no one will mistake us for whose child we are.

Mark

No comments:

Post a Comment

I Believe...

1). I believe that there is one God. I believe God consists of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2). I believe that God is holy, righteous, loving, and just.
3). I believe that mankind is separated from God by sin; that sin entered the world through Adam and death through sin.
4). I believe that, because of sin, man is condemned. Because of God’s utter hatred for sin, there is an eternal conscious punishment in hell for all those who do not come to God on His terms, dealing with their sin.
5). I believe that confessing our sins and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is the only way to properly deal with the sin that has infected everyone. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on the cross; reconciliation by substitution. There is nothing we can do to add to the finished work of Christ.
6). I believe in the security of the believer, that once he is truly born-again, there is nothing that would cause him to lose his salvation.
7). I believe that upon the death of a true believer in Christ, that he is ushered immediately into the presence of the Lord, where he will live in everlasting joy in Heaven, experiencing eternal fellowship with God.
8). I believe in believer’s baptism by immersion. I don’t believe baptism is necessary for salvation, but it is a beautiful outward profession of an inward possession.
9). I believe in a literal 6-day creation where God created the heavens and the earth and then rested on the seventh day.
10). I believe that the words written in the Bible are truth. I believe that the Bible is inerrant in its parts and in its whole. I believe that the 66 books that make up the canon of scripture make the Bible complete and that God inspired the words written therein. The things that were written down in the Bible are sufficient for every need we have. Not only is God’s Word sufficient, but it is far superior to any other method of handling the problems that man faces, since He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness.