Four grandchildren, similar in so many ways, bear traces of genetic code passed through familial lines from our forebears beyond the five generations for which I can account. I am so much Myrtle passed through David to me, but I am also Ansel through Joyce. The lines expand each time a marriage happens and the family grows. Genetics is fascinating to me. My husband and I imagined what our children would be, which traits they would bear, long before I conceived the first. Once, an amiable older lady commented, upon learning we were honeymooning, that we would no doubt produce a batch of beautiful strawberry blondes, a combination of my then much lighter blonde with my husband’s then much darker auburn. Though at birth, our three children looked remarkably similar, they grew into themselves uniquely, as God intends. Of course, the primary likeness that God intends and that I pray daily over my children and grandchildren is Christ’s. (And yes, if you’ve ever been one of mine, I love and pray over you still!)
“Yet grace [God’s undeserved favor] was given to each one of us [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ’s [rich and abundant] gift.
[and He did this] to fully equip and perfect the saints (God’s people) for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church]; until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity].
So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit].
But speaking the truth in love [in all things—both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ.
From Him the whole body [the church, in all its various parts], joined and knitted firmly together by what every joint supplies, when each part is working properly, causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up in [unselfish] love.”
Ephesians 4:7, 12-16 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/eph.4.16.AMP
We are born with undeniable physical traits and characteristics resembling our parentage. As believers, our lives are meant to be transformed to reflect and display our Heavenly Father, God, in the same way that Jesus did when He walked the earth, yet God is being cast aside and His attributes are being aggressively redefined. Truth has become relative and love cast in isolation. Jesus is Truth and He always acted out of perfect love, a love so deep and wide and long and high that He gave His life willingly for yours and mine as an acceptable offering to God. He healed diseases, freed from demonic possession, and forgave sin with an eye toward one simple yet profoundly life-altering trait- faith.
“What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]?
Can that [kind of] faith save him?
[No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.]
If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,” but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do?
So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].
But someone may say, “You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].”
You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]! [Deut 6:4; 11:13-21; Mark 12:29]
You see that a man (believer) is justified by works and not by faith alone [that is, by acts of obedience a born-again believer reveals his faith].”
James 2:14-19, 24 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/jas.2.14-24.AMP
Knowing God’s Word is knowing God. Becoming familiar with His ways through the stories of the Old and New Testaments, His way of speaking and revealing Himself, His way of bringing about life, justice, genealogy, His way of blessing and cursing, His way of judging, is crucial to following God. Living in the created world, we are constantly being pressed into its mold. We cannot undo its influence. We can only allow God, by faith in Jesus and through the power of His Holy Spirit and knowledge of Him, to apply counter pressure. Think of rain. It falls down onto the earth and is absorbed. It becomes one with the earth until God, through a process of evaporation, draws it heavenward. It’s a repeating process.
““The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/isa.55.10-11.NLT
Jesus prayed, “I have given them your message and that is why the unbelieving world hates them.
For their allegiance is no longer to this world because I am not of this world.
I am not asking that you remove them from the world, but I ask that you guard their hearts from evil, For they no longer belong to this world any more than I do.
Your Word is truth! So make them holy by the truth.
I have commissioned them to represent me just as you commissioned me to represent you.
And I ask not only for these disciples, but also for all those who will one day believe in me through their message.
I pray for them all to be joined together as one even as you and I, Father, are joined together as one.
I pray for them to become one with us so that the world will recognize that you sent me.”
John 17:14-18, 20-21 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/jhn.17.14-21.TPT
“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].”
Romans 12:1-2 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/rom.12.1-2.AMP
““ Do not judge [others self-righteously], and you will not be judged; do not condemn [others when you are guilty and unrepentant], and you will not be condemned [for your hypocrisy]; pardon [others when they truly repent and change], and you will be pardoned [when you truly repent and change]. [Matt 7:1-5]”
Luke 6:37 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/luk.6.37.AMP
““ Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly].
For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the [insignificant] speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice and acknowledge the [egregious] log that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye?
You hypocrite (play-actor, pretender), first get the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Do not give that which is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, for they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
Matthew 7:1-6 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/mat.7.1-6.AMP
The commands of Jesus must always be considered carefully in context. First and foremost, Jesus never asks of one of His followers that which He has not already given Himself. Secondly, though there are always extenuating circumstances, these do not matter nearly as much as obedience to Christ. Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus condemned their penchant for following the law to the letter, (usually after exhaustively expounding each syllable) asking rather that their hearts be in the right place. They claimed Abraham as their father and Moses as their lawgiver but they had forgotten God. Jesus accused them of making converts for themselves.
““I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds!
Your lives are roadblocks to God’s kingdom.
You refuse to enter, and won’t let anyone else in either.
You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds!
You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned.”
Matthew 23:13, 15 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/mat.23.13-15.MSG
The Old Testament begins with a command to multiply and fill the earth with God’s image, and Jesus’s final command is to do likewise.
“Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All authority of the universe has been given to me.
Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you.
And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/mat.28.18-20.TPT
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.
They [who teach twisted doctrine] are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the [viewpoint of the] world [with its immoral freedom and baseless theories—demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright], and the [gullible people of the] world listen closely and pay attention to them.
We [who teach God’s word] are from God [energized by the Holy Spirit], and whoever knows God [through personal experience] listens to us [and has a deeper understanding of Him].
Whoever is not of God does not listen to us.
By this we know [without any doubt] the spirit of truth [motivated by God] and the spirit of error [motivated by Satan].”
1 John 4:1-6 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/1jn.4.1-4.AMP
“For many deceivers [heretics, posing as Christians] have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge and confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh (bodily form).
This [person, the kind who does this] is the deceiver and the antichrist [that is, the antagonist of Christ].
Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have accomplished together, but that you may receive a full and perfect reward [when He grants rewards to faithful believers].
Anyone who runs on ahead and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ [that is, one who is not content with what He taught], does not have God; but the one who continues to remain in the teaching [of Christ does have God], he has both the Father and the Son.
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [but diminishes or adds to the doctrine of Christ], do not receive or welcome him into your house, and do not give him a greeting or any encouragement; for the one who gives him a greeting [who encourages him or wishes him success, unwittingly] participates in his evil deeds.”
2 John 1:7-11 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/2jn.1.7-11.AMP
Look closely. If you’re treasuring sin in your heart, it is no secret. Repentance means agreeing with God about what He already knows. This is where transformation begins, where you begin to recognize God’s family resemblance in the mirror. Look around. Who else is beginning to see it too? There’s your opportunity to let Jesus shine!
“But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth].
For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like.
But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience].”
James 1:22-25 AMP
A Fitting Reply 