John 5:19
Jesus replied, “The Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing, and in the same way."
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
As we approach Mother’s
Day, some people are switching their Facebook profile picture to one of
their Mom. In some cases, the resemblance of the woman in the old photo
to the child in present day is uncanny. I have several photos of my
niece Jasmine – and especially of Timothy – in which their “smirky”
smile is that of my dad. The crazy thing about this is that my dad died
when Jasmine was 9, and Timothy never knew my dad, so he has absolutely
no reference for this gesture. My niece Zola points to things with her
middle finger. I don’t recall this, but my sister says that Daddy did
the same thing…and so did Jasmine.
My cousin Olivia is witty and
bright…engaging and funny. She “comes by these traits honestly”…her mom
is the same way, as were her Grand-dad and great-grandmother. But the
interesting part is that Olivia was two when both of these dear ones
passed. She really never knew either of them…certainly not enough to
talk like them or develop many of their personality traits. And how
does my cousin Owen walk like his Grand-dad, who died three years before
he was even born? There is only one answer to these questions…the
“father” lives within us.
Do you see where I am going with this?
We are often so innately connected to our ancestors that we carry much
more than their DNA. We are like them in subtle gestures and faint
hints of personality characteristics, mannerism and more. They are a
part of us and who we are. And our relationship with God contains the
opportunities for conveying His “gestures and mannerisms”… and the
potential for far greater reflections of His glory, power, love, grace
and mercy.
Apart from God, we might be able to sustain kindness
and generosity – or to accomplish many things on our own. But for the
really significant stuff, we need His presence. There have been
countless times in my life when I experienced or accomplished something
that I knew was far beyond my capabilities or “wheel-house”. The only
way these things happened was under God’s power…His work in and through
me. I am not God, and I know it! But without His hand in my life, I am
powerless and utterly incapable in many instances.
Here’s the
really cool thing. The closer we grow to God…the more frequently He
shows up, and the more readily recognizable these experiences become as
His handiwork. I find God more often in the makeup of my life - from
subtle nuances to the truly large events. The more I grow in my
relationship with Him…the more I acknowledge His power, wisdom, and
presence…the more I truly find Him.
I may not have God’s “smirky
smile” (although, who knows?!)…and I know that there are many instances
where I fail to represent Him well - much less give others a glimpse of
Him in my words, thoughts and actions. But I’m working on this and
striving to do better and be better every single day. What about you?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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