Who Do I Resemble?

As the speaker shared his thoughts with us out of Psalm 1, I asked myself this question, “Who do I resemble?” I know who I want to resemble but who do I really look like? What are my actions, words and responses reflecting to those around me? Would someone who doesn’t know me, know just by watching that I am a Christ-follower? Or have I accepted the attitudes and actions of the world to the point that I blend right in?

In a world that is increasingly cynical and negative, too often I have allowed my thinking and my actions to get sucked into that same vortex, spinning ever deeper into discouragement or even despair. It is easy to go there with the world news full of wars that are threatening our peace as we know it, riots and murders happening in our communities and hunger and starvation a reality for too many people.

Instead, the psalmist points me in the right direction. Through his Word God shows me what to do. I am to delight in his Word and meditate on it day and night. It’s not just about checking off the daily reading in my one-year Bible plan. Instead I need to sit in it, cherish it, soak it in. It is only as I do that, that I can choose God’s best when I have a choice as to which direction to take, which decision to make, which path to follow, or which perspective to steer a conversation toward.

It is only as I daily make that decision to delight myself in the Word that my very being changes, my thoughts, my responses, my actions. It is only then that I can look more like Jesus in every aspect of my life. And then I can truly resemble him, hopefully to the point that even a stranger would notice that there is something different in my life.

Who do you resemble? Have you abandoned spending time reading your Bible? Have you started walking in step with those around you to the point that your behaviour has changed? Like the frog who is put in a pot of cold water and then doesn’t jump out as the water slowly warms up, it is easy to grow accustomed to those changes and slowly begin to resemble someone other than the Saviour we have chosen to follow.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that you beckon me to spend time with you in your Word. Forgive me when I rush through my daily reading of the Bible and don’t take time to sit and allow it to change me from the inside out. Lord, I want to be like that tree that is planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Amen

Throughout this Day: Make a choice today to set aside time to delight yourself in the Word. Everything else will wait as you sit and listen and allow it to permeate your thoughts and actions. May you resemble Jesus in all you say and do today.