Just Like Your Dad

I John 3:1-6

A little boy was walking beside his dad. He wore a cowboy hat just like his dad, cowboy boots, and a western shirt the same color. Almost every action was a copy of what his father did, and his speech was like hearing his father twenty years before. Even had his dad not been present, everyone who knew the father would have known who the boy was. He was obviously proud to be his father’s son, copying him in everyway possible.

People who love God will exhibit a similar desire to be like him. Young Christians should be working to be like him, while mature Christians should have developed an attitude similar to God’s. Just as the little boy adopts his fathers standard if he knows his father’s love, the Christian who understands God’s love will adopt God’s standard, retaining it throughout his life.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (I John 3:1-3)

The little boy will continue to emulate his father unless he begins to lose respect for him. The admiration and respect can be destroyed by the father’s actions, or by how others treat or talk about his father. If it is destroyed, he will reject his father’s standards. Proverbs 14:2 states that our attitude toward God will be shown in our behavior. “He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.” If we love the Lord, and understand he came to take away our sin, there will be a desire to eliminate sin from our lives.

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” (I John 3:4-6)

The intent of the traffic law is protection of people’s lives. As a result, there are specific regulations, but provision is made for when following the law exactly would endanger others. For example, the speed limit may be fifty five normally, but if the road conditions are bad, you may still receive a citation for excessive speed if you drive that fast. Emergency vehicles are allowed to exceed the speed limit to protect the lives of others. Though they are allowed to occasionally exceed the speed limit, habitual breaking it is illegal and many emergency vehicle drivers have lost their licenses because of a habit of exceeding the speed limit. Their disregard for the safety of others makes them unfit for the job of protecting others.

In the same way, while an occasional sin may be forgivable, a deliberate lifestyle of sin cannot be overlooked, as it demonstrates a lack of concern about the very thing Jesus died for. It indicates a desire to follow and emulate Satan rather than God. They are copying their father, as Jesus said in John 8:44. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” The way a person lives indicates who and what their parents are.

“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (I John 3:7-8)

The way a person lives tells a great deal about his family, and his attitude toward them. As such, it is an indicator of a person’s relationship with God. While we cannot make a sure judgment from it, it indicates a need to look closer, whether in our own life or of those around us.