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The Resemblance of Love

Last October, there was excitement among royal watchers as Princess Charlotte delighted the crowds in Canada with a rare public appearance. The toddler princess showed off her walking and even some dancing on her first royal engagement during William and Kate’s tour of Canada.


This excited the tabloid media who quickly informed us that the little girl bears a striking resemblance to her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. We were treated to photographs of the Queen when she was the same age as Charlotte. One newspaper said Charlotte has a cheeky grin like her great-granny.

 The media often finds news where it does not exist. It is surely not a surprise that Princess Charlotte resembles her great-granny because they are related! Those who belong to the same family resemble one another. What is true for our physical family is also true for our spiritual family. Those who belong to God resemble God. Here is how John puts it:
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practise righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother [1 John 3:10]
Just like Princess Charlotte and her great-granny, those of us who share the same spiritual relationship with God resemble God by not living in sin and not not practising hatred. God cannot live in you and you continue a lifestyle of sin and hatred towards other believers. Change must happen to you!

God generally commands us love everyone, but here John focuses on loving fellow followers of Jesus (“his brother”). Why does John narrow it down to loving followers of Jesus? Because John’s main point is that if we are children of God then we are a new spiritual family who must love those who share the same Father! We are a family, so we must let it show!

May be you have been hurt badly by another follower of Jesus. If you are honest you have read 1 Corinthians 13, and you know deep in your heart you carry bitterness, animosity and hatred towards others. You are failing to obey God in this area. The answer to your predicament is to recognise that hatred is not who you are. God now lives in your heart. So confess that sin to God and allow God to transform you and use that difficult situation to make you more like Him.

Copyright © Chola Mukanga 2017

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