When you look in the mirror, do you ever see your parents? Sometimes, I recognize the slightest suggestion of my dad in the face looking back at me. When I do, I tend to pause and soak in a small wave of nostalgia. On those rare occasions when I catch him in my reflection, I savor a bit of melancholy because I miss him. I breathe a prayer of gratitude for what he gave me and because I will see him again. And, more often than not, I entertain a hint of astonishment that he and I should be so much alike despite my convictions to the contrary when I was much younger. My dad and I seemed to be anything but similar to me in my youth and young adult years. He was built like an offensive lineman – 6’5” and 350+ pounds, a big, burly, ex-marine. His hands were large, strong, and calloused from years of manly labor. Although, I have become something of a man of … girth, my build when I was younger was better-suited for gymnastics. My hands are only calloused on the fingertips from playing guitar, and I do not have ideally-sized hands to play the piano, as much as I like doing so.
Dad was a quiet man not likely to offer his opinion freely or to draw attention to himself, especially in large groups. He sang in the church choir from time-to-time, and would sing “funny” songs when he was in a jovial mood, but he was never one to sing a solo. His oldest son, however, never met a quiet moment he couldn’t “fix.” If I am nothing else, I suppose it is fair to say, I am … loud.
Dad liked Johnny Cash, John Wayne, war movies and westerns, TV wrestling, Archie Bunker, and fishing. I, on the other hand, favored Barry Manilow, Al Pacino, classic horror flicks and sci-fi, Major League Baseball’s Game of the Week with Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek, and baseball. He rose early every morning; I slept in as late and as often as I could. He wore a cowboy hat and work boots; I wore a baseball cap and Adidas. So, I am understandably alarmed when I see my dad in me, though less so than I used to be. And I am downright flabbergasted when I overhear my wife in another room tell someone, “Rob looks a lot like Jake sometimes.”
I wonder if people think my kids look like me. For their sakes, I hope not! Still, when I step back and take a careful look, I notice strong familial resemblances our five share with one another, and thankfully, with their beautiful mother as well. In fact, Donna and the girls could easily be
mistaken for four sisters. I think it is the combination of their eyes, their smiles, and their height!
Of course, when we look at other families, we are not so hampered by our personal stories or biases. In our own church family, there’s no mistaking who Grace and Hannah’s mom and dad are. The same holds for the Spencers, the
Time helps us spot the family likeness as well. I like to check up on old friends, many of whom I have not seen for quite a while – one reason why I am especially grateful for virtual communities like Facebook. I especially enjoy the pictures of old friends’ children. When I look at recent family pictures of my friends Brad and Leann with their gorgeous kiddos, for instance, I see Brad all over the faces of his sons, especially Isaiah. The same is true for other friends with whom I recently re-connected on Facebook, like Brad and Karen, and Terry and Tamara. Their children all carry a strong, and pleasing, family resemblance.
This reminds me of an interesting text. Genesis 5 suggests something wonderful and worrisome about our family likeness.
On the day that God created man, He created him in the likeness of God; … Adam … fathered [a child] in his likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth (Genesis 5:1-3).
In other words, just like I carry a resemblance to my father, I also carry and pass on to my children the image of our father, Adam. We have all been born in the image of Seth’s father, Adam. Adam’s likeness in us represents a flawed image destabilized by self-centeredness and deadened by sin. This is not really good news.
Thanks be to God, however, Adam’s is not the only image we bear! Blaise Pascal observed, “Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed.” In Adam, we find our shame and disgrace. In God, we find we find our dignity and distinction – God’s original intent for creating Adam in His own likeness. In Christ, we find Father’s image and intent gloriously restored! And we are called to be and become His image-bearers again. Hooray! and Hallelujah!
In The High Calling Daily Reflection for Friday, January 25, 2008, Mark D. Roberts insightfully writes:
Seth was born in the image of his father, Adam ("image" in Hebrew = demut; used also in Gen. 1:26). This statement in verse 3 comes just after verse 1 reiterates the fact that God created human beings in His own image (demut). Even though sin has infected all of life, human beings still bear the image of God, however tarnished that image might be. We are not completely and utterly evil because God's image remains at the core of our being. From our parents, grandparents, and all of our ancestors, we receive an identity that reflects the very image of God, however imperfectly. We long for the day when we might see God as in a mirror, when we will know both God and ourselves fully as we are restored by God's grace (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Hmm … Look again in the mirror, look sharp every day in the mirror, and keep an eye out for our family resemblance!
Pastor Rob
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