Display the family likeness (Zechariah 2-5; Psalm 93; 1 John 3)

She’s the spit of him! She has his nose! He has his ears!
He’s just like his dad! Very often we can’t help but display the family likeness, sometimes it’s in what we look like, other times it may be our behaviour. In our reading from 1 John 3, the apostle John is encouraging the Christians to display the family likeness as we look forward to the ultimate family reunion.

The family reunion that John is talking about is at the end of time, when Jesus Christ returns (1 John 2:28, the end of yesterday’s reading.) So John says, abide with Jesus, stick with Him, so that when He appears you will be so happy that you are one of His people! As you stick with Jesus, you will display the family likeness. What’s the family likeness for a Christian? The next verse tell us God is righteous (2v29)—He never does anything wrong. He is perfectly loving all of the time. And so those in His family will display the family character of seeking to do what is right, of thinking about the interests of others, of being loving towards others. We’ll not do this perfectly (remember 1:8) until the family reunion, but if we’ve been born of Him, we will start to display the family likeness.

As soon as John mentions being born of God, he can’t help but mention the love of God. Have a look at the amazing words at the beginning of chapter 3. How could we be born of God? Only because of His incredible love that caused Him to give His own Son for us, to die in our place so that we can be cleansed of all unrighteousness and be adopted into His family!

John says, if God has done that for you, you will start to display the family likeness and one day you will display it perfectly. Look at the breathtaking words in 3:2, “when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” When we actually see the Lord Jesus with our own eyes, we will be blown away! When we see such love, power, majesty, and other-person centredness, our desires will be changed. Now we only know a little of how glorious He is, but when He appears, we will be overwhelmed and our desires changed so that we want to be like Him, and we will be.

Can you imagine having no sin! Always thinking about the interests of others, never putting yourself first. And all of God’s people being like this! What a delight and a motivation to start getting ready! That’s what John tells us to do next, he says, if you’re going to be at this family reunion, start displaying the family likeness now! Purify yourself as He is pure (v3). Turn away from all sin, anything that makes you impure, anything that you will be ashamed of when the Lord Jesus returns. Ask for His help now to change and to display the Christian family likeness.