Sharing Our Father's Likeness
by Cathe Laurie
This is a wonderful season in life for Greg and me. You may have heard that we are grandparents for the first time. At two months, little Stella is only 11 pounds, but goodness me, she already has her grandpa Greg and grandma Cathe wrapped around her tiny fingers.
We are wiling to make absolute fools of ourselves just to coax a smile from her sweet face. The other day, the girls in our family were having a Bible study in the backyard and grandpa Greg offered to baby-sit her. He took her on a walk and then played with her in front of a mirror, amusing themselves with her expressions. He never left her for a moment. I have rarely seen him so happily occupied. I can only imagine how he will feel when she calls out, "Grandpa, come here; I need you." Look out, everyone, we will all have to take second place for a while.
She is truly a special treasure. Like most grandparents, we have become picture-taking fanatics. The baby already had her own website before the day she was born. Stella's maternal grandma Sheryll is an amazing scrapbooker, so I'm certain every stage of this baby's life will be lovingly posted on the Internet and noted in a book all her own.
Did you know that this is how our heavenly Father feels toward His children? The Hebrew word translated as jewels could be rendered as "special treasure." It is an endearing term used in the Old Testament only of the people of Israel. If you are His child, you are His special treasure, His jewel.
And what is even more surprising is that the words you and I speak in reverence and love for His wonderful name are carefully noted. Never are we an inconvenience or interruption to Him; He listens to and hears our prayers. In this unique passage of Scripture, we are told that a heavenly scrapbook of sorts, a "book of remembrance," is recorded for those who fear Him and meditate on His name.
But what does it mean when it says that we are to fear Him? This fear is a call to awe, wonder, worship, and reverence. It will result in our sincere desire to respond to God with our obedience. Another definition I've heard is that the fear of the LORD is a wholesome dread of displeasing Him. When we ponder His holiness, infinite wisdom, and goodness and seek to live in obedience to His commandments, we will bring honor to His name. The things we do—big or small, noticed or unnoticed by others—are not forgotten by Him. They are precious to the Lord and have been recorded in His book of remembrance, for He values all that we do for His glory.
Notice that we are let in on a heavenly activity. The Lord listens and pays attention to our earthly conversations we have with others about Him. You can almost sense the pride God has in His children when he says, "They shall be mine . . on the day when I make them My jewels." The excitement of these words is that we, His children, bring joy to His heart when we speak of Him and honor Him.
A common discussion topic surrounding Stella is whom she resembles most. We haven't quite figured this out yet as she is changing daily. But we have heard things such as, she has her father's nose, her mother's lips, and to Greg's delight, her grandfather's eyes.
My question is, who do we most resemble? Can anyone see our Father's likeness in us? The natural result of our fear of the Lord will be that His character—the family likeness, so to speak—will be reflected in my life, my conversation.
Do I . . . Do you show the family likeness? Let us examine our hearts carefully today and see if we do. It is then that we make our Heavenly Father proud to say, "They are mine."
by Cathe Laurie
"Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name. 'They shall be Mine', says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them My jewels" (Malachi 3:16–17 NKJV).
This is a wonderful season in life for Greg and me. You may have heard that we are grandparents for the first time. At two months, little Stella is only 11 pounds, but goodness me, she already has her grandpa Greg and grandma Cathe wrapped around her tiny fingers.
We are wiling to make absolute fools of ourselves just to coax a smile from her sweet face. The other day, the girls in our family were having a Bible study in the backyard and grandpa Greg offered to baby-sit her. He took her on a walk and then played with her in front of a mirror, amusing themselves with her expressions. He never left her for a moment. I have rarely seen him so happily occupied. I can only imagine how he will feel when she calls out, "Grandpa, come here; I need you." Look out, everyone, we will all have to take second place for a while.
She is truly a special treasure. Like most grandparents, we have become picture-taking fanatics. The baby already had her own website before the day she was born. Stella's maternal grandma Sheryll is an amazing scrapbooker, so I'm certain every stage of this baby's life will be lovingly posted on the Internet and noted in a book all her own.
Did you know that this is how our heavenly Father feels toward His children? The Hebrew word translated as jewels could be rendered as "special treasure." It is an endearing term used in the Old Testament only of the people of Israel. If you are His child, you are His special treasure, His jewel.
And what is even more surprising is that the words you and I speak in reverence and love for His wonderful name are carefully noted. Never are we an inconvenience or interruption to Him; He listens to and hears our prayers. In this unique passage of Scripture, we are told that a heavenly scrapbook of sorts, a "book of remembrance," is recorded for those who fear Him and meditate on His name.
But what does it mean when it says that we are to fear Him? This fear is a call to awe, wonder, worship, and reverence. It will result in our sincere desire to respond to God with our obedience. Another definition I've heard is that the fear of the LORD is a wholesome dread of displeasing Him. When we ponder His holiness, infinite wisdom, and goodness and seek to live in obedience to His commandments, we will bring honor to His name. The things we do—big or small, noticed or unnoticed by others—are not forgotten by Him. They are precious to the Lord and have been recorded in His book of remembrance, for He values all that we do for His glory.
Notice that we are let in on a heavenly activity. The Lord listens and pays attention to our earthly conversations we have with others about Him. You can almost sense the pride God has in His children when he says, "They shall be mine . . on the day when I make them My jewels." The excitement of these words is that we, His children, bring joy to His heart when we speak of Him and honor Him.
A common discussion topic surrounding Stella is whom she resembles most. We haven't quite figured this out yet as she is changing daily. But we have heard things such as, she has her father's nose, her mother's lips, and to Greg's delight, her grandfather's eyes.
My question is, who do we most resemble? Can anyone see our Father's likeness in us? The natural result of our fear of the Lord will be that His character—the family likeness, so to speak—will be reflected in my life, my conversation.
Do I . . . Do you show the family likeness? Let us examine our hearts carefully today and see if we do. It is then that we make our Heavenly Father proud to say, "They are mine."