“Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous…Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.”
1 John 3:7,9 (NLT)
My daughter, being adopted, surprised me by her family resemblance. As a baby, she looked so much like my father. Even now most people assume I’m her biological mother because we look a lot alike. That said, as she grows, I’m noticing more and more a resemblance to her biological mother. Genetics pretty much rule our design.
Just like Christ should rule our behavior.
There must be a family resemblance—Christians grow the fruit of the Spirit because they have the Spirit. That doesn’t mean all nonbelievers are all unruly, hateful people who go around causing destruction at every turn. No, the devil is too clever to be that obvious. And it doesn’t mean Christians are perfect people who can do no wrong.
But the Bible clearly teaches that our fruit reveals our hearts.
Apple trees grow apples…
Orange trees grow oranges
Like my daughter, we are adopted. I often remind Kayla that I will always love her, AuDHD and all. Likewise, God takes us as we are. However, I don’t expect my daughter to stagnate. She’s learning coping skills and social skills and keeps obtaining the knowledge and tools to navigate this world. God expects the same of us. We don’t stay still. We move. We exercise love so our Christ-like muscles increase.
My best friend and I joke once in a while about who we would be without the Holy Spirit. If we didn’t believe in Christ’s redemption and didn’t care about obeying God’s law. We came up with some pretty disgusting answers.
I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to give any bad ideas—haha!
Who do you resemble? Christ or that other 🔥guy? Because the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
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