Twins have always been of a particular interest to me. How can two people look so alike? The hair is the same color. They have the same smile. They tilt their heads just ever so slightly in the same direction when they question something. When they style themselves the same way, they are indistinguishable to most people…except those that know them well.
Dad knows that Susie like strawberry ice cream, while Cheryl likes rocky road. Susie has a tiny little sneeze. Cheryl? Forget about it; her sneeze is like a fog horn sounding off! Cheryl is the sociable one while Susie keeps to herself. Dad even knows that Susie has a tiny birthmark on the back of her neck and Cheryl doesn’t.
Some people look at Christians thinking they are no different from anyone else, but we are.We physically look the same as other people. We might play the same sports, sing the same songs and drive the same cars as the rest of the world. Sometimes, it’s sad to say, we even act the same as other people, (in a negative way.) That has some earthly consequences for us followers of Jesus.
If a plain old car cuts someone off in traffic, no one thinks twice about it, but if someone with a “Jesus” emblem on their car does it.…let the wagging of the heads begin! The world is watching as we are a “peculiar people.” 1Peter 2:9 Folks who don’t know God yet sometimes take pleasure in pointing our sins out to each other and to us. Sin is sin, no matter who commits it. It’s true, my sin is no different from anyone else’s. Sometimes we may get to thinking maybe we really are just like other people. But there is a big difference between sinning and living a life of sin.
Take David for instance, he was a “man after God’s own heart. Acts 13;22 says,” After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ While true, David did do everything God wanted him to do; he also did some things God didn’t want him to do.
No one of us, on this planet, is immune to falling into sin. The difference is that some of us are forgiven. David, who was in the direct lineage of Jesus Himself found grace in God. He was honest with God about who he was and what he did. God helped him overcome the sin in his life and come to a place of repentance.