There is a Facebook app I have seen the last few days called the Like Parent app. It is supposed to show which parent you look like. Perhaps because of this, and because Father's day is approaching, I have been thinking about my dad. My dad has been with the Lord for more than 20 years now and I don't think of Him everyday. But there are days ... When I do something that reminds my sister of him and she says, "you are acting like Hubert." Or when I need someone to work on a vehicle I think of him. He was one of the best mechanics I ever knew. I am told I look like my father (forgive me for bragging but he was a handsome man) and I'm told I act like him at times. So this got me to thinkin'. How much do I remind people of my heavenly father?
The born again child of God has a heavenly Father as well as an earthly father. So I wonder, do I remind other people of my heavenly father the way I remind them of my earthly father? The Bible gives us a list of the characteristics of God in Galatians 5:22-23. They are called the fruit of the Spirit. Here are a few of them.
Love
Joy
Peace
Gentleness
Kindness
Patience
Self-Control
These are things I hope people can see in me. In fact, Jesus said that others would know we were Christ's disciples by our love for each other. I think what he was trying to tell us is that the child of God should have some characteristics of the Father. The more we walk with God the more like him we will become. We tend to be more patient, more understanding, more compassionate when we spend time with God in prayer and in his word.
There is another father the Bible talks about. He is the father none of us want to be like. The Bible calls Satan the father of lies among other things. In John 8:44 Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are of their father the devil? How could he say this? Because they were showing the fruits of their father. These are listed in the same chapter of Galatians. They are called the works of the flesh.
Hatred, jealousy, murder, envy, just to name a few...
This is the default setting of humanity. We are born with these things in us. We don't have to learn them. They just come naturally. But the Spirit of God has a way of remaking us into His image. Little by little, as we yield to Him, His Spirit softens us and we begin to show God's traits rather than the traits of the enemy.
As father day approaches I hope I am reminding others of my father. I know I will never be just like Him on this earth. There is always something else He has to work out of me. But I pray everyday that I can at least remind someone of Him so that they can get to know Him as I do.
Sincerely,
Sullivan Jones
The born again child of God has a heavenly Father as well as an earthly father. So I wonder, do I remind other people of my heavenly father the way I remind them of my earthly father? The Bible gives us a list of the characteristics of God in Galatians 5:22-23. They are called the fruit of the Spirit. Here are a few of them.
Love
Joy
Peace
Gentleness
Kindness
Patience
Self-Control
These are things I hope people can see in me. In fact, Jesus said that others would know we were Christ's disciples by our love for each other. I think what he was trying to tell us is that the child of God should have some characteristics of the Father. The more we walk with God the more like him we will become. We tend to be more patient, more understanding, more compassionate when we spend time with God in prayer and in his word.
There is another father the Bible talks about. He is the father none of us want to be like. The Bible calls Satan the father of lies among other things. In John 8:44 Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are of their father the devil? How could he say this? Because they were showing the fruits of their father. These are listed in the same chapter of Galatians. They are called the works of the flesh.
Hatred, jealousy, murder, envy, just to name a few...
This is the default setting of humanity. We are born with these things in us. We don't have to learn them. They just come naturally. But the Spirit of God has a way of remaking us into His image. Little by little, as we yield to Him, His Spirit softens us and we begin to show God's traits rather than the traits of the enemy.
As father day approaches I hope I am reminding others of my father. I know I will never be just like Him on this earth. There is always something else He has to work out of me. But I pray everyday that I can at least remind someone of Him so that they can get to know Him as I do.
Sincerely,
Sullivan Jones