Like Father…like Daughter?

“You look just like your daddy!” Many of us have heard this, but I am sure our responses have varied.  

As I get older, I realize that the comparison does not end there. I am like my father. I am like him in personality. I am like him in purpose. He loves action movies. I love action movies. He is a nerd. I am a nerd. He’s a teacher at heart. I’m a teacher at heart. He is passionate about Jesus. I am passionate about Jesus. And the list goes on.

When you come from someone, you will inevitably carry some of their attributes.

From the womb, we receive approximately 50% of our genes from each of our birth parents. So, you are roughly half your mom and half your dad. When we are born, our parents’ DNA which once resided inwardly begins to manifest outwardly in our physical appearance and characteristics. Overtime, we pick up more of their positive and negative attributes due to a mix of nature and nurture. Sin is inevitable.

So whether we like it or not, we are all like our fathers.

You may not have the best relationship with your earthly father. So, any comparison may jolt you at your core. I understand, but do not leave just yet. Stay with me.

Despite even their best efforts, all earthly fathers are imperfect. Maybe your father was absent, maybe he was inconsistent, maybe he was passive, or maybe he rejected you. Daddy issues run the gamout. Thankfully, our stories do not have to end there. We do not have to remain bound by the sins of our fathers. A perfect father is available to us in God the Father. Guess what? God’s original intention was that you be like Him. 

“Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.”

GENESIS 1:26 (AMP)

The Bible uses the term “likeness” which means similarity or resemblance. From the beginning, our Father God created each of us to resemble Him. This does not mean that we are mini gods, as some may assert. It simply means we were created to carry the attributes of God. There is only one person who was the exact image of God and that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For some, this may sound crazy, but Jesus is the deity of God wrapped in bodily form, sent to the world as a ransom for our sins.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.

Colossians 1:15 (NLT)

Through Jesus, God offers us birth into a new family.

Upon receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have the opportunity to be born again. 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

At this birth, God washes the slate clean and gives us His “genetic” makeup. He adopts us into His family and takes residence in our hearts. As He dwells inside of us, the work that is taking place on the inside manifests on the outside. Before we know it, we truly are like God. We walk like Him and talk like Him. We even begin to exhibit His character. New birth, new identifiers.

“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again.”

John 3:6-7 (NIV)

But when [in God’s plan] the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the [regulations of the] Law, so that He might redeem and liberate those who were under the Law, that we [who believe] might be adopted as sons [as God’s children with all rights as fully-grown members of a family]. 

And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”  Therefore you are no longer a slave (bond-servant), but a son; and if a son, then also an heir through [the gracious act of] God [through Christ].

Galatians 4:4-7 (AMP)

New Birth + New Father = New Identity. 

Who you were, your family line, and what you were known for, no longer defines who you are. God, your Father, does. I am thankful that He settles within us who we are in Him. This identity is not based on our past or the failures of our fathers. God bases our identities on who He is. Ultimately, isn’t identity what this is all about? So, the next time someone says you’re just like your father. Take it as a compliment and respond, “Like Father, like daughter.”

 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Big hugs,

Ayanna