As I was walking across my college campus, a stranger grabbed my arm, assumedly to get my attention. He was fortunate that I did not yield to my natural Chuck Norris-esque instincts and deliver a roundhouse kick. As we locked eyes, he spoke. “You must be a Dunkin.”

I scanned his face and those of the people with him, but did not recognize any of them. “As a matter of fact, I am. But I’m curious; how did you know?”

“Oh, it’s the way you walk. You walk like a Dunkin.”

It’s those kinds of comments that can quickly make a man uncomfortable. I began to analyze the length of my stride, the point of my toes, the speed of my gait. I thought my walk was reasonably normal – usually one foot followed by the other in an alternating pattern, just the way my parents taught me.

Or was it my older sisters who taught me? Like a tsunami, panic washed over me: was I walking like a girl?! My friends assured me that was not the case. And I reasoned that if it had been true, my detractors would have pointed it out by now.

Without knowing it, I was exhibiting a family resemblance. In my case, it was a mannerism. For others, it’s a unique physical feature such as height or lack thereof, the shape of the nose or ears, etc. (Feeling self-conscious yet?) Some families share distinct vocal intonations that have been the source of many embarrassing telephone conversations. As in, “Hi, Molly.” “No, this is her son, Wilbur.” Oops. But I digress . . .

As it turned out, the man who recognized my “Dunkin walk” was a close friend of my uncle and a jovial chat ensued.

Usually we don’t get to choose our family resemblance; we’re born with peculiar features that will identify us for our whole lives. But we don’t have to be defined by these characteristics. That’s good news for most of us, and it is based on the example of our Lord Jesus Himself.

I think it’s significant that we know very little about Jesus’ physical traits and everything about His words and work and the heart that birthed them. This is how the Master explained it: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does (John 5:19).” By choosing to search out the mind of His Father and live in obedience to His will, Jesus chose His family resemblance.

Do you remember when Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father (John 14:8)? To paraphrase, Jesus responded by saying, “Philip, don’t you see the family resemblance? I act like My Father. I talk like My Father. I have the same priorities and heart as My Father. If you’ve seen me, Philip, you’ve seen the Father.”

Every day we have the opportunity to display our spiritual family resemblance by choosing to honor our heavenly Father and live for His glory. When we do, we will be easily identified by our distinct lifestyle, characterized by “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Someday, sometime, someone will tug you on the arm and ask, “Are you a Christian? I recognized you by the way you walk.”

“Like Father, like son (or daughter)!”

Blessings,