Some things in life are undeniable. If you are a redhead and your mother is a redhead and her mother had red hair, then you probably expect that your unborn daughter will be a redhead. And if she is, when you line up for three or four generation photographs, you will not be able to deny the relationship.
Facial features, mannerisms, voice inflections and accents are all possible identifiers of relationships. At the age when my father developed a larger beltline, I did also. Demographic Analysts examine commonalities and specifics of population groups to make predictions in many areas. Real life results do not always follow predictions. When my father passed away in August of Nineteen Ninety Nine, I was twenty years younger than him. After taking care of the usual responsibilities and attending the funeral services I did not see his wife for a number of years.
Although I would have looked much younger when I was there, he would not grow older in her mind whereas I would still be aging. After a few years we planned a family get together at my sister’s home in St. Louis Missouri. It was somewhat midway between our Ohio home and Oregon as well as the rest of our well dispersed family. So we set a date, made travel plans and anticipated some wonderful times ahead. Dad’s wife was already there when we arrived after our eight hour car ride. The children and my wife went before me. There were joyful greetings all around. Hugging and laughing were the order of the day.
What we could not have anticipated was the reaction at the moment when I arrived. As I entered the living room everything stopped. Her eyes did not lock on mine. There was a look of terror on her face. She had quickly scanned the body shape and face, hair, glasses and the facial expression in the moment I came into view. Maybe it was shock more than terror. She began to cry openly as she remembered her husband appearing exactly like I did as I walked in. She was not able to greet me immediately but quickly recovered.
It was a difficult emotional experience for her to view the mirror image of the one she had loved for so many years. She had buried him and continued to live with his memory well entrenched in her mind. She had given little or no thought to the idea that I would have aged almost identically to him. I would not be able to deny Him as my father nor could he deny me as his son. It was an undeniable relationship. I did not press her with questions. I do not know if she thought I was him for just a moment. I did not want to cause her more pain. I had let my hair grow out a bit from its usual length. It was combed straight back like his had been for so many years. Mine was usually parted on the side. The jaw, the nose the belly shape all said it was him.
We had some things in common and yet even to the casual observer we had many attributes which were very far afield. We had different values and goals. Different views of which things held high value and those which didn’t matter much.
Nonetheless his wife was surprised and quite a bit taken back for a few moments. She had mattered greatly to him. He had mattered greatly to her. I suppose that flood of memories and emotions was more joyous and more painful than any she had known since the funeral. There was no denying our commonalities. Some of his attributes I have retained make me very proud, some do not. I was very proud of His accomplishments and many of his life decisions. As I am of some of my own.
Then there is our relationship with Jesus. We begin to resemble him after spending some time with him. But certain attributes and qualities are instantly ours in the moment we acknowledge Him as our personal Savior. He redeems us from the ownership of sin. He remakes our heart and desires to line up with His. We become like him just as we are somewhat like our parents when we were conceived in our mother’s womb and born into this life.
Then as we grow by staying close to Him and His Word, the Bible, we become more identifiable as one of His own. Our expectation is that when we arrive home in heaven that it will be a surprise to no one. For we will look like Him whether in the Spirit or in the flesh. I had no desire to cause my dad’s wife discomfort or pain. But if I had taken more opportunity to think it through, perhaps I might have foreseen that moment more clearly. I wonder if any of my appearance will cause others grief when I enter heaven.
Will there be some surprised to see me there because of how I treated them in this life? Will I carry with me a list of “wish I would haves”? Or will I be the express image of my father in heaven because I allowed Him to make me and mold me according to His desires.
We have many opportunities to remake ourselves. Some people will have plastic surgery in order to acquire the same appearance as someone else. Others will dress like people they admire. Or get a hairstyle, buy sunglasses or even eat certain foods to imitate another. Sometimes we regret having sought after another’s fame, sometimes we venerate it. Even today many entertainers and impersonators appear as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe or even Barbie. Some folks admire them, others ridicule them. If I am known for having an appearance or attribute similar to any, I would desire that it resemble Christ Jesus. I am my father’s son. I wish to be more like him in the ways in which he was like Jesus. And on top of that, both in the things seen and in the things unseen, I wish to be more undeniably like Jesus.