|
| |
[Back]
That’s My Grandma
Recently at a family reunion I was
impersonating a “mountain mama” complete with Billy-Bob teeth, bib overalls,
hat and padded tummy. I called
myself Cousin Maude. Throughout my
performance there were remarks and responses from the group.
But amid the remarks and gales of laughter, one little voice kept piping
up, “That’s MY grandma!” I
may have been trying to act and talk like someone I wasn’t, but I was not
fooling three-year-old Lauren. She
knew who I was and kept proudly announcing it.
When John the Baptist was
preaching in the desert, a man came to him dressed in the common attire of the
day. Even though Jesus had not yet
started His earthly ministry, John recognized him, not as his cousin, but as the
Messiah, and tried to refuse to baptize Him.
Immediately following his baptism, the Spirit of God descended like a
dove and alighted on Jesus, and a voice from heaven proclaimed to the astonished
crowd, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”
(Matthew 3:17). Jesus was
pure, holy and undefiled. He was who
He said He was. He was not
pretending.
Sometimes it is fun to impersonate someone
else. But false teeth, wigs, clothes
or stuffing will not mask who we are for long.
Someone will recognize that twinkle in the eye, intonation of voice or
unmistakable mannerism. A wolf in
sheep’s clothing still has a long nose!
God’s Word gives us a barometer to gauge
whether we are genuine children or just pretenders
-
He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep his
commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him.
I John 2:3
· Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is of God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh is not of God. I
John 4:2
· If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother,
he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can
he love God whom he has not seen? I
John 4:20
· In this the children of God and the children of the devil
are manifest: Whoever does not
practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
I John 3:10
· Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,
heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. . . . Those who
practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5: 19-23
Scripture
records that one day there will be a great judgment when all nations will be
gathered together. The Son of Man
will separate the righteous from the unrighteous as a shepherd divides the sheep
from the goats. To the sheep on his
right He will say, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you” (Matt. 25:34).
To the goats on the left He will say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the
everlasting fire” (Matt. 25: 41).
It
was a holy moment when God proclaimed Jesus his Son.
What a day that will be when we are claimed as His own.
Pat
Hertzler
October,
2005
|
®
Hertzler
Farm
and Feed Inc.