When I was a kid my parents got a divorce. My biological father wasn’t really a big part of my life after than. My mom remarried and my stepdad became more of a father to me. Eventually he even adopted me and I took his last name. I haven’t seen my biological father in decades. I don’t say this to get pity but it makes the words of Jesus come alive to me.
In John 8:44 (NLT) Jesus said to the people:
For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
In this verse and the surrounding passage Jesus calls the people out for being like their father, the devil. As you can imagine, this didn’t go over too well. He was saying that the devil was their father because they acted just like him. Now we know that once we are born-again we should be transformed into the image of our Father, God.
Who is your daddy? Are you becoming like Him?
I remember when I got married, a woman at the wedding came up to me and said I looked like my dad (right in front of him). He was so proud. Although this woman didn’t know I was adopted by my stepfather, he was saying that I resembled him. Nothing makes a dad prouder than a son or daughter favoring Him. So my question to ask you is do you look like your Father? Can people see the resemblance? Are you surrendered to His sanctifying work in you?
Have you ever heard a son whose voice sounded like his father’s? I know father/son preacher duo and as the son gets older he sounds more and more like his father. As you are seeking after God are you sounding more and more like Him? Are you uplifting people like He does? Do your prayers shake the foundations of heaven and earth as you pray in faith?
My almost 1 year old son loves to mimic me right now. He copies what I am doing. If I clap, he claps along. When I laugh, he laughs. If I try to dance, he dances with me. When I snap, he tries to snap too. I just love it when he does that and it blesses my soul deep within. God is the same way. Are you following His example? Are your mannerisms like him? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to develop the character of God within you? Do you love the things He loves?
Are you a Daddy’s boy/girl? Understand you position in Christ and submit to the process. We call that process discipleship. A disciple is simply a follower. It comes form the same root word as the word “discipline” does. We become more like God when we submit to a process or a system of spiritual disciplines.
Primarily those are:
- The Bible
- God’s Word needs to be part of our daily lives. We should read it, study it and apply it. The Bible is God speaking to us.
- Prayer
- I like to simply define prayer as talking to and listening to God. The more time you spend with Him, the more like Him you become.
- Community
- No one grows spiritually in a vacuum. Although it has become cliche we were intend to “do life together”.
- Living a Spirit Led Life
- Not only has God given us His word He said that true sons and daughters of God would be led by His Spirit! That is an amazing comfort knowing that the Creator of heaven and earth never leaves us! That’s why Jesus called Him the Comforter!
- Generosity
- John 3:16 says: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son…” God’s way to display His love was to give. As we become more like Him, we can’t help but to become more generous. You claim to become more like God and not be generous, it just doesn’t match up.