Do You Bear The Family Resemblance?

WHAT IF SOMEONE WALKED INTO YOUR LIFE, SOMEONE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN OR MET BEFORE AND THAT PERSON CLAIMED TO BE YOUR LONG LOST BROTHER OR SISTER? ONE THING FOR SURE YOU WOULD MOST LIKELY ASKED SOME VERY PERTINENT QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO VALIDATE THEIR CLAIM AND WHILE YOUR ASKING QUESTIONS YOU WOULD INADVERTENTLY LOOK FOR A FAMILY RESEMBLACE BECAUSE EVERY FAMILY HAS CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS AND CERTAIN TRAITS THAT ARE PASSED ON FROM ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER. IF SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE PART OF THE MILLER FAMILY AND THEY WERE MALE THE VERY FIRST THING I’D LOOK FOR WOULD BE BIG EARS AND A THICK MUSTACHE, BECAUSE THAT’S MY FAMILY TRAIT.

IN OUR TEXT, JESUS GIVES US A LESSON ON HOW WE CAN BECOME RIGHTEOUS, HE SAID, “BE PERFECT THEREFORE, AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT.” NOT PERFECT IN CHARACTER BUT PERFECT IN YOUR PURPOSE. AND PRIOR TO THIS HE SPEAKS ABOUT LOVING YOUR ENEMY AND FOR SOME OF US, OUR FIRST REACTION WHEN WE HEAR THESE WORDS OF JESUS IS TO THINK THAT JESUS IS BEING UNREALISTIC AND EVEN UNREASONABLE. —ACTUALLY WHAT WE’RE THINKING IS THAT HE IS TELLING US DO SOMETHING WE CANNOT POSSIBLY DO.

LOVE YOUR ENEMY? IT DOES SEEM LIKE AN IMPOSSIBLE DEMAND, BUT JESUS IS NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF MAKING IMPOSSIBLE DEMANDS WHAT HE IS SAYING HERE IS THAT WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT US THEY OUGHT TO SEE A FAMILY RESEMNLAMCE BETWEEN US & GOD. IF YOU ARE A PARENT YOUR CHILD OFTEN LOOKS LIKE YOU—THAT’S THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM ON THE MAURY SHOW, SOME OF THE MEN WHO APPEAR ON THIS SHOW LIKE TO SAY THAT THE CHILD DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THEM—AND THEN LATER ON MAURY HAS TO CORRECT THEM AFTER ACQUIRING THEIR DNA AND SAY WITH A POSITIVE VOICE THAT “YOU ARE THE FATHER!”

HERE IN THE TEXT JESUS DEFINITELY KNOWS WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT, BECAUSE HE IS THE SPITTING IMAGE OF HIS FATHER, HE HAS HIS SAME PROFILE, HE TALKS LIKE HIS FATHER, HE WALKS LIKE HIS FATHER—IN FACT, HE EVEN SAYS THAT, “I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE!” AND THE FATHER ASSURED US ONE DAY BY SENDING DOWN A DOVE AND SAYING THAT, "THIS IS MY SON IN WHOM I WELL PLEASED", ONE DAY JESUS LOOKED UP TO HEAVER AND SAID, “…FATHER THE HOUR HAS COME; GLORIFY YOUR SON SO THAT YOUR SON CAN GLORIFY YOU” HE WANTED TO RECIPROCATE BY USING HIS GLORY TO HONOR THE FATHER. JESUS BY PRAYING THIS PRAYER GIVES US A GREAT EXAMPLE. IT MAKES US ASK THE QUESTION, DO WE FOR BLESSINGS THAT WE MIGHT BETTER SERVE GOD AND DO HIS WILL OR DO WE SIMPLY ASK FOR BLESSINGS THAT ONLY SERVE OURSELVES?

HERE IN THE TEXT, JESUS IS SAYING THAT WHEN PEOPLE SEE YOU, (HE SAYS) I WANT IT TO OBVIOUS THAT YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. BECAUSE IF YOU ARE LIKE YOUR FATHER THEN YOU KNOW THAT YOUR FATHER SHOWS HIS LOVE TO EVERYONE AND I WANT YOU TO LEARN HOW TO DO THE SAME THING. I WANT YOU TO SHOW YOUR LOVE—EVEN TO YOUR ENEMIES. LOVE YOUR ENEMY, NOT EROS LOVE BECAUSE THAT’S LOVE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN, I SAID A MAN AND A WOMAN. NOT STORGE LOVE BECAUSE THAT’S LOVE ONLY FOR YOUR FAMILY, NOT PHILEO LOVE, ALTHOUGH IT IS BROTHERLY LOVE IT IS STILL NOT STRONG ENOUGH, JESUS SAYS I WANT YOU TO HAVE AGAPE LOVE. THE KIND OF LOVE THAT SAYS I LOVE YOU EVEN IF YOU REFUSE TO LOVE ME BACK.

ALLOW ME TO MENTION VERSE 48 AGAIN BECAUSE HE CONCLUDES IN VERSE 48 BY SAYING “BE PERFECT, THEREFORE, AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT.” SOME FOLK HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS WORD “PERFECT” BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT TO PERFECT REQUIRES THAT YOU BE WITHOUT A SCAR OR A BLEMISH OR A FLAW.AND WE KNOW THAT NO MATTER HOW WE MAY TRY IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO GO THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT ANY SCARS BUT THE GREEK WORD FOR PERFECT (IN THIS TEXT) ACTUALLY MEANS THAT YOU SHOULD BE MATURE, READY & ABLE TO DO WHATEVER THE JOB REQUIRES. THAT’S WHAT JESUS IS EXPECTING FROM US, IS THAT WE READY AND ABLE TO DO WHATEVER IS REQUIRED IN THIS KINGDOM BUILDING WORK AND IF THE REQUIREMENT IS TO LOVE SOMEBODY THAT REFUSES TO LOVE YOU BACK—THEN SO BE IT.

NOW, HOW DO WE REALLY TAKE ON THE FAMILY RESEMBLANCE OF GOD? I HAVE THREE POINTS THAT IN THE WORDS THE LATE DR. C. A. W. CLARK SHOULD NOT ONLY HELP YOU BUT ’HOPE’ YOU.

THE FIRST THING I SEE HERE IS THAT WE NEED TO REALIZE:

1. THE MAGNIFICENSE OF GOD’S LOVE

LOOK WHAT JESUS SAYS THERE IN VERSE 45; HE SAYS THAT GOD “…CAUSES THE SUN TO RISE ON THE EVIL & THE GOOD, & HE SENDS THE RAIN ON THE RIGHTEOUS & THE UNRIGHTEOUS.” IN OTHER WORDS, GOD IS GRACIOUS AND JUST AND FAIR TO EVERYBODY. I’M GLAD THAT GOD IS GOD AND HE’S GOD ALL BY HIMSELF.