[376 words]
A young girl of 14 gave birth to twins in a small town in Ohio. Afterwards, she disappeared — never to heard from again. The twin babies were adopted by two families in separate towns in Ohio.
Jim Springer and Jim Lewis grew up not knowing each other although they had heard that each had a twin somewhere. At the age of 39, Jim Lewis sought to find his brother. Finally, the courts released their adoptive names and they finally got to meet.
Picture this. One day, a man you’ve never met knocks at your front door. You open the door, and on your front porch is a guy who looks exactly like you. This is what happened to the two Jim’s.
The brothers reported that it was like looking into a mirror. They discovered that they talked, looked, thought, and acted alike. It was even a little spooky. Both men had the same hobby of woodworking; and both had just finished building wood furniture for their homes. The first wife of each man had been named Linda. Both had divorced and remarried to women named Betty. And of course, both had been given the first name “James” by their adoptive parents.
Did you know that the name, “Christian,” means some who “clothes himself or herself to Christ?” To wear the name means that when you look in a mirror, you see Christ looking back at you.
Do you remember this old song?
To be like Jesus
To be like Jesus
All I ask – to be like Him
All through life’s journey
From earth to glory
All I ask – to be like Him.
This is the intent of such passages as:
“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6).
“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” ( 1 Peter 2:21).
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Larry Fitzgerald
Woodlawn church of Christ
Abilene, TX