The older I get, the more I see that I’m just like my parents. I use the same weird sayings, have some of the same idiosyncrasies, and behave a lot like them. I turn everything into a song, something I get from my mom. I nerd out about the Bible, something I get from my dad. Because of this, if you were to hang out with me for a long time and then meet my parents, you would probably feel like you already know them in some ways. How I interact with people reflects how my parents interact.
The Family Resemblance
Jesus has this same connection to his Father, God, but in an even deeper way. While I am like my parents in many ways, there are also many ways in which I am unlike them. I’ve had different experiences than them and those things have shaped me.
Jesus doesn’t have this same disconnect from God. In some strange and mysterious way that we can’t wrap our minds around, Jesus was both fully himself as a person and also fully God. There’s no way he’s not God or like God. That concept is impossible for us to grasp. However, the implications are amazing. Jesus walks like God. He talks like God. He acts like God in every situation he enters.
Over and over in John chapter 8, Jesus tells the crowds and the religious leaders that if they really knew God, his Father, they would recognize who Jesus was (see John 8:16, 8:19, 8:28-29, 8:38, 8:42, 8:47, and 8:55). If they’re looking at Jesus, they’re seeing what the Father is like. If they truly knew the Father, they should be able to see the family resemblance in Jesus. Jesus shows us what God looks like with skin on.
The Gospels: A Window to God
The Gospels, including the book of John, allow us to read about what Jesus did, what he was like, how he behaved. Jesus allows us to relate to God in a way that would otherwise be impossible. We can then see what God would look like if he was in our world because through Jesus, he was! We can know who God would hang out with, how he would treat his friends, what kinds of things he would say were important. Jesus shows us through his own life.
This is why Jesus is so important for the Christian faith. It’s not just that Jesus’ sacrifice allows us entrance into heaven and God’s kingdom, though it does that. It is through Jesus that God gets as close to humanity as one can get. He becomes one of us. God is not just a spiritual being who is floating around somewhere out there. He’s also a person who has come down to our level. He’s personally experienced pain, frustration, growth spurts, puberty, desire, love, betrayal, achievement, loss, joy, friendship, family life, and the whole spectrum of human emotions and experiences. He knows what it’s like to be us because he has been us.
Jesus is also an example of what we should be in the world. We should always strive to be as like him as possible. That includes being like him in his job as a reflector of God. Just as Jesus is a reflection to us of what God is like, we are called to be a reflector in the world of what Jesus is like. We are to continue the family resemblance. How can we accomplish this?
How We Can Reflect God Too
Spend time with Jesus, learning who he is.
If we want to know what God is like and if we want to know how to emulate Jesus, we have to spend time studying the Bible in conversation with Jesus. We need to know what Jesus did in the world so we can know what we can be doing in the world. As we come to a deeper understanding of who God is and who Christ is and the Spirit’s work in our lives, we can slowly become more and more like Jesus. However, we have to have a starting off point and the Gospels are a great place to start.
Just like with other relationships in our life, the more time we spend with Jesus, the more we are going to be like him. The more time we spend getting to know Jesus through the Bible and listening in prayer to what God would have us do, the more we are going to look like Jesus.
Make sure you have good examples to follow.
If all Christians are supposed to be reflections of who Jesus is, we can look to others who are a little further along in their journey with Jesus as examples. While our ultimate example should always be Jesus, others can help us to see what Jesus looks like with skin on in our world today.
Find someone who you think really exemplifies what Jesus would look like in today’s world. It’s best if it’s someone you actually know so you can ask them questions and get to know them a bit. However, you can still be inspired by Christians in history or those who are well-known in our world today. What kinds of things are these people doing? How do they treat their family? Who do they hang out with? How are they spending their money? What do they do in their spare time? Looking at how various Christians are answering these questions with their lives can help you figure out how you should be answering these questions in yours.
Share the family resemblance.
If you are reflecting who Jesus is, that means that everyone you come in contact with gets to see a little bit of Jesus whether they realize it or not. You can be a picture of Jesus to your coworkers, your neighbors, the person who checks you out at the store, anyone that you come in contact with. This enables you to “share the Gospel” without even saying a word.
That doesn’t mean you won’t have to use words or that you shouldn’t use words to share the Gospel. Words are essential to the spreading of the Gospel. People aren’t going to just accept Jesus by osmosis. However, it does mean that any spiritual conversation you have should start with how you live your life.
Jesus spent much of his time with people who didn’t yet know who he was: the outcasts of society, party people, prostitutes, overly righteous religious people, and unbelieving crowds. He had quality time with his disciples, but most of his time was spent trying to display who his Father was to people who didn’t know yet. He calls us to do the same.
You might think this is impossible to do if you’re trapped in your home currently, but it’s actually not. You can call your neighbors or leave them a note checking on them. Jesus was always concerned about people’s physical needs. You can connect with coworkers via social media, text, or a phone call. You don’t have to have a spiritual conversation. Just show that you care by taking the time to connect. No matter where you are, you can always share the family resemblance.
Photo by Caroline Veronez on Unsplash