Devotions

I’d Know That Walk Anywhere

“I’d know that walk anywhere,” I told John.

We were meeting my Uncle Dick at the airport and staying with my family in Oahu before going on to Kauai. I had scanned the baggage claim area to look for him, but his face was not the first thing that I recognized. The man walking away from us had a distinct shuffle.

I had seen that walk a hundred times before.

It belonged to my grandmother.

Tootie, as I liked to call her, had passed away a few years before I met my husband. I was brought up in a multi-generational house and she was a daily part of my life growing up. Tootie was my safe place. My heart was heavy when she died. I knew she would never see me walk down the aisle or meet my husband and children. And they would never meet the woman who shaped my life by teaching me about faith, contentment and love.

But there was something about Uncle Dick that reminded me so much of Tootie. That moment seeing him shuffle through the airport almost took my breath away. The family resemblance was striking. His facial features and gait were the same, but it wasn’t just his appearance. It was also his character that mirrored my grandmother’s. There was a familiar kindness in his eyes, and a contentment and love for his family that made me feel as if I were looking right at Tootie. His faith was evident. And I vividly remember saying to my husband, “this is the closest you will ever come to seeing my grandmother.”

When Jesus came to live among men, this was the closest we had ever come to seeing God.

Colossians 1:15 :“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

We were now in the presence of a man whose character mirrored that of the Creator.

Jesus was gentle and moved among the people in a distinct way. He spent time with those society deemed unworthy or undesirable: tax collectors, prostitutes, adulterers, criminals.

He walked among sinners.

He walked in love.

Friends, we are created in that same image.

Genesis 1 : 27 “ So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”

God created us in His image for a reason.

My friend, Randy, a youth volunteer, recently reminded our group at a Youth Rally that we all have a family resemblance to God.

Some people have never experienced God. How will they experience Him through seeing us? Will they see the family resemblance?

Friends, God asks those who He created in His image to walk in love.

What a wonderful world it would be if our family resemblance to our Father was so strong that others would say:

“I’d know that walk anywhere.”

Walk in love, brothers and sisters.

4 Comments