Like Father, Like Son

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“Like father, like son” is a popular saying because it is often true. It certainly is in my own life. The older I get, the more I realize I am my father.

 

A son can be like his father in many ways. He may take up the same hobbies and interests. He may reflect his father's character and behavior. They may sound alike, think alike, or share many of the same mannerisms. It is no surprise, then, that “like father, like son” has become such a familiar expression.

The expression “like father, like son” also finds application in the ancient world of Jesus' day. Sons were expected to learn their fathers' trade by imitating them in a form of apprenticeship, doing only what they saw their fathers doing. Before long, the result was what you would expect: like father, like son.

 

What is true in the physical realm is equally true in the spiritual realm. "Be imitators of God as dear children," Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:1. The Greek word mimetes, translated "imitator," is the term from which we get the English word mimic. This is one reason Scripture calls us God’s children. In Scripture, "sons of" is an idiom that means to possess the characteristics of or do the deeds of the one we follow. “Sons of” describes not only our relationship to Him, but also the kind of people we are to become. 

 

Scripture repeatedly emphasizes this truth. In the broadest sense, we are to be holy because God is holy. Peter writes, "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:15-16). Specifically, we’re to reflect God's love. "Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us" (Eph. 5:2), even loving our enemies so that we may be "sons of our Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:45). We’re to reflect God's mercy. Jesus said, "Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful" (Lk. 6:36). We’re to reflect God's forgiveness, forgiving one another "even as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph. 4:32).

Alexander the Great once discovered that a soldier in his army bearing his name was a coward. Alexander commanded, "Renounce your cowardice or renounce your name." Christians bear God's name. If people cannot see a resemblance to the Father in us, we need to reclaim our commitment to reflect His character through repentance. Like Father, Like Son

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Written by Craig Ressler