Do I Resemble Him?

This morning I was reflecting on some of my favorite verses from John 14, and I felt like there was an important question for me to consider.  Here are the verses - John 14:6-14 NIV:

[6] Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 

[8] Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

[9] "Jesus answered: “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? [10] Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. [11] Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. [12] Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

I was thinking about Jesus' clear statement here, that if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father (vs 9).  He had previously said, "If you really know me, you will know my Father" (John 14:7) and these two statements got me wondering if I could say the same thing?  

If someone knows me, and sees me, do they also know and see Him (the Lord)?  In other words, am I representing Him in daily life?  

Do I look like Him in how I act?  Do I have some of the same mannerisms?

In the natural I look quite a bit like my Dad, and when people see me, and see pictures of him, they definitely see the resemblance.  In some of my mannerisms, I find myself acting very similar to him, and I think these are  a small example of what Jesus is saying here.  However, Jesus represented His Father perfectly (Heb. 1:3).  Every spoken word, every action was from the Father, and initiated by the Father, not like a robot, but because Jesus chose again and again and again to do exactly what the Father showed Him, for to be fully man, He must have had free-will.

As I am reflecting further on this, I must assume that Jesus had a clear choice in front of Him all the time, the Father's way or some other words, or some other actions.  He perfectly followed the Father's way, always, and thus became the exact representation of the Father (Heb 1:3).  

I am just thinking about the level of listening and seeing that must have been required to perfectly follow the Father!  If we are meant to follow Christ, then we must have these same abilities, yet how often do I hear the Lord?  My inability to hear the Lord has nothing to do with the Lord's ability to speak, it must therefore be a limitation in me.

I am the first to say that I am easily distracted.  I know my thoughts are often far from the Lord, and if my thoughts are my eyes and ears are far form Him as well.  If I make a concerted effort to stay focused on Him, I might last an hour or two (with multiple micro-interruptions), but that is only true if I have nothing else to do, like work, eat, talk, or just about anything.  I can lose my train of thought faster than bullet train in Japan. :-)  It takes me significant effort and focus to maintain my attention on the Lord.  I wish I could say I am getting better at it, but I think that might be untrue.

Additionally, I find that my ability to discern the Lord's voice is suspect.  I constantly doubt that I have heard Him, as His words are often spoken quietly to me, and if I am not paying attention I miss them. Even if I do hear them, sometimes I struggle with knowing exactly what He means.  I have a whole list of times where I thought I knew what He said and meant and what He actually meant were different.

In summary, I am far from being able to say, 'if you see me or know me you see and know the Lord', but I am believing that I am able to get better and He is able and willing to help me!  I need to be more sensitive, more attentive and less distracted.   I need to learn to control my thoughts, to keep them aimed at Him, so that  am not far off when He speaks or shows me something.  

My goal is look like Him, and resemble Him in my mannerisms, words and actions!

Amen and Amen!