The Everlasting Father. Isaiah’s third description of the “Child of Promise” is a father who is eternal with no beginning and no end. This week our advent Take5 devotionals will focus on the attribute of the eternality of Jesus and his role and relationship to God our Heavenly Father. We will discover how Jesus, while separate and distinct from God the Father, expresses characteristics like a loving, protective father.  

Families have gathered or will gather to pose for the time-honored tradition of the holiday family photo. It is strange to think of taking a picture of ourselves dressed in matching outfits, awkward poses, babies crying, boyfriends or girlfriends on the fringe of the photo (so they can be cropped out if needed), and grimacing smiles. All with the goal of sending a picture card of ourselves to someone we only reach out to once a year. Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a picture of yourself. It’s like saying, “Merry Christmas. When I thought of you, I came to mind. I thought of blessing you with a picture of myself. I knew it would be just the perfect gesture.”

We laugh and know that is not the intent of holiday family photos. Pictures are a wonderful reminder of our love and connection with those closest to us. We extend our familial love as a gesture to our extended family, friends, and neighbors. We love to see pictures of our friends and hear the latest from them about their families. Christmas cards are a way of saying, “I see you. I thought of you. I wish you well at this time of year.”

One of the most amazing aspects of family photos is the resemblance of family members. The kids often look like a perfect blend of mom and dad. For some sons, we will say he is “Just like his father.” Jesus said of himself to the disciples, “…Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father…” (John 14:9).

In the first chapter of John, the Apostle describes Jesus as “the Word” – the living Word of God. The more we read the written Word of God, the clearer our picture of the living Word, Jesus. We see God the Father in the life and ministry of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels. Jesus is the perfect blend of “grace and truth.”

As we become more like Jesus, the more others see both the grace and truth of Christ in us. Just as John said that Jesus was just like his father, our desire should be that others say about us that we are just like our everlasting father – Jesus!

Today: Think of someone to whom you can show the “grace and truth” of Jesus. Who needs you to show them Jesus, during this holiday season? Who needs to see that you are “just like your father!”