Father Figure

Are you ever told you remind someone of somebody else? Unless you are part of Westbury Christian School, you probably don't know Amberly... but you should. A senior cheerleader, I started calling Amberly 'Reese' several years ago in honor of actress Reese Witherspoon of Legally Blond-Walk The Line-Sweet Home Alabama fame. (She calls me Brad as in Pitt. It might be a stretch.) This entry, from February 4, 2007, is about resemblances.

I saw Jared in the grocery store last weekend. A sophomore in my fifth period Bible classes, Jared is one of my best students and an extremely polite young man. He was with his father and he wanted me to meet him. When I saw the dad, I immediately recognized him as one of the clerks at the United States Post Office I frequent. I have been is his line numerous times over the years, buying stamps and mailing packages. What stands out physically about Jared's father is his height; I would estimate him to be about 6'9" or so. Jared is a good-sized kid but nowhere close to being as tall as his papa. Something hit me as I left the store that day. I know Jared and I know his father but I had never made the connection between the two. It's understandable that I would not assume a link in a metropolis of four million souls.

I have twin brothers in my sophomore Bible classes, although in different periods. Several days ago, the Picture Of The Day on our Westbury Christian School website was the team photo of our varsity boys' soccer squad. On the front row, kneeling, was Marc Dennard. Next to him was his brother, Justin Dennard. Man, they look alike! The only problem is, they aren't the twins. The third Wildcat to Marc's left is his twin brother, Ben....but nobody thinks they look much alike. We jump to conclusions based on insufficient data or just fill in information gaps based on what we surmise to be true. When I taught psychology classes in Tennessee, I would show pages from my Georgia Christian School basketball media guides, obscuring the names, and let my students pick out the brothers and sisters. My former players would have been shocked to learn who their supposed siblings were! I wonder if people try to figure out who I am. Some folks know me, and they also know Jesus, but do they make any connection between us? Do they see any resemblance between myself and the most famous Nazarene? Jesus himself defined the relationship in Matthew 12:50 when he stated that, "whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother." That seems simple enough. There must be something missing. You see, I've been asked if Dave is my brother and also if Scott is my brother. I don't know if I can recall being asked if Jesus is my brother. It's excusable for me not to realize the kinship between Jared and his dad or incorrectly pick the wrong brother to be Marc's twin. Others should never miss the link between Jesus and myself. After all, we share the same blood.Applicable quote of the day:
"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons."
Johann Schiller

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com