LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

Time with Jesus - 29 Sept. 2013 

Hi all,

I’ve mentioned once before that 1955 was a watershed year for me. It was the year when I became a teenager. The family had moved from Port Elizabeth to Taaibos Power Station close to Sasolburg. My primary school days were over and I went to school in Sasolburg for my high school years. In those days it was called Standard 6. 

Factory

The other exciting thing was that my Dad’s employer, called him back to England for a 6 month refresher course. So, after Easter that year, we travelled by train to Durban. There, we boarded the “Athlone Castle”, for a 3 week trip to Southampton. The intention was to return in September, in time for me to start the 4^th term at school!

That was an amazing year. Meeting relations I should have known; seeing something of the UK by train and bus. (We didn’t have a car in UK back then); seeing what was left of the war damage in the towns we visited.

Mom’s parents lived in Hull in Yorkshire. Dad’s parents lived in Newcastle-on-Tyne in Northumberland. Dad would travel to and from Newcastle to Hull on the bus most weekends.

The Clock in Thirsk

On one occasion, we three went from Hull to Newcastle on the bus. What a lovely drive. We went from Hull to York, then on to a little place called “Thirsk”. Place names in UK have often puzzled me. Subsequently, I’ve done a spot of historical digging and found the following information.

The town is mentioned twice in the Doomsday Book. By 1145, what is now Old Thirsk was known as a borough. In 1723 it was sold to Ralph Bell of Sowerby and remained in the Bell family into the 20th century.

The name is derived from the Viking (Old Norse) word þresk meaning fen or lake. (Courtesy Wikipedia) For me, looking back down the years, the great attraction of Thirsk is not so much the quaintness of the name as the connections therewith. It was the birthplace of Thomas Lord (23 Nov 1755 – 13 Jan 1832) an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1787 to 1802. He is best remembered as the founder of Lord's Cricket Ground in London.

In the mid 1960’s the name James Herriot became famous to the book reading public. It was the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS, also known as Alf Wight (3 Oct 1916 – 23 Feb 1995), a British veterinary surgeon and writer. He used his many years of experiences as a veterinary surgeon, to write a series of books of stories about animals and their owners. Alf’s veterinary practice was in Thirsk, at 23 Kirkgate. He is best known for his semi-autobiographical works, which are often referred to collectively as “All Creatures Great and Small”.

Back in 1955, I had no idea that one day, I would wish to return to Thirsk, to visit the Herriot Museum. We understand that Alf’s son is also a vet who lives and practices in Thirsk! Like father, like son! In today’s meditation we look take a look at this. “Like Father, like Son”.

In John’s gospel, Jesus said to Philip. ⁹ "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking Me to show Him to you? John 14:9 NLT

Like father, like son!

There’s the world of difference between Alf and his son. They may have looked similar. They both took up the same profession – veterinary surgery. Certainly there must have been many instances connected with them where it could be said, “Like Father, like Son!” The similarities would be superficial. Things you could look at and recognise in them a as strong similarity; perhaps even a strong family association. 

Like father, like daughter

I’m told that scientifically, if you investigate their genes, you would find a close family connection. There were also differences which made them unique.

In much the same way, people have said the same about my dad and me.

Dad and Daughter

“Like father, like son. Dad and I looked very much alike. Our genes would have proved the close family ties. But that is not what Jesus meant when he said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!” His statement is inimitable. 

Dressed to look alike!

Commenting on this verse, John Gill wrote: He that hath seen me; not with the eyes of his body, but with the eyes of his understanding; he that has beheld the perfections of the Godhead in me, hath seen the Father; 

the perfections which are in him also; for the same that are in me are in him, and the same that are in him are in me: I am the very image of Him, and am possessed of the same nature, attributes, and glory, that He is; so that he that sees the one, sees the other. How sayest thou then show us the Father? (Courtesy John Gill).

Footprints in the Sand

We forget that Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. As the Son of God He is an integral part of the Holy Trinity. In this Divine mystery we have one God Who is three Persons. God is three in one. 

Yet God is indivisible. A poor yet helpful illustration is to consider an egg. It is one egg. It has a shell, a white and a yolk. Indeed it is three in one, but this does not adequately describe the Trinity. In some respects it clouds the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

It’s 58 years since that bus trip and the brief visit to Thirsk. Back then it was a quiet, sleepy little town bordering on the Yorkshire Dales. Of course, Herriot’s “Skelldale House” is at “23 Kirkgate”. Probably it’s something like the sleepy little towns around the Sea of Galilee in which Jesus devoted much of His time in ministry. 

Like son, like father

Those who saw Him then were greatly blessed. They have “looked” upon the “face of God”! In those days it was “Like Son, like Father!” 

Today it is still true. His adopted sons and daughters long to “press in” to be more like Him. As His character and nature grow in us, the objective is always to be, like Him. In other words, “Like me & you, like Son, like Father.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 29 Sept. 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
Dad met Mom in Hull, Yorkshire in 1938. She was his first and only girlfriend. They married the day after Mom’s 21st birthday in 1940. I arrived two years later. Mom died in 2001 so their marriage had lasted 61 years. Dad passed away 8 months before his 90th birthday in 2007. Life in England was very different in 1940. Many thought the UK was finished. They expected an invasion by Germany. Mercifully, it didn’t happen. There were no TV services in UK in those days. All they had was dance halls, the theatre and the movies; mostly black and white. Radio had started and was used to help keep up the morale of the people. Programs like ITMA, Flanagan and Allen, Jimmy Edwards and Dick Bentley, George Formby, Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn, along with the sounds of the big dance bands like Glen Miller, Billy Cotton and numerous others, helped the people in the UK endure the blitz. All able-bodied men were called up. Only the few men who were in reserved occupations were not conscripted. Even the women were called up. They were used to keep up wartime production. This included Dad’s two elder sisters. Suddenly women were required to do work that previously was reserved for men only. Dad was not conscripted. He spent most of the war repairing and overhauling equipment in power stations and factories damaged by bombing. Very often he was only in one place for a few days or perhaps a week. He told me that the company didn’t want to give him a week off to get married. They did in the end, so Mom and Dad had one week for their honeymoon. All this was marvellous experience for a young man who had just completed his apprenticeship. This was the foundation for his remarkable engineering skills. In September 1960, I started as an apprentice in the same company my Dad worked for. I must confess that I was not a patch on him. But there was a major difference. In the following month, I committed my life to Jesus Christ in the Methodist Church. I went there because I noticed that all the pretty girls went there. For a young man of 18, nothing is more important than pretty girls. In spite of my questionable motives, He “saved” me. At times, I think this was His way of getting me “saved”. Almost immediately I wanted to be a Methodist Minister. Dad, in his wisdom said “No! You must first finish your engineering training!” He was so right. One of the problems was other peoples’ expectations. They thought I would be as good an engineer as he was. Anyway, I stuck it out and when it was time for me make a decision to go into the ministry, I was comfortable doing what I was doing. Furthermore, as I grew older the more like my dad I became in appearance. People would say, “If you’ve seen Jim you have seen Ernie. (dad) It remained that way to the day he died. I tried to be like him. I just didn’t have his skill! Now, much to my amazement, young men have said they would like to be like me. So I tell them to follow me as I follow Jesus. It’s rather difficult for me to think that I’m now standing in dad’s shoes. Not in engineering, but in Christian service. I suppose to some extent it’s understandable. Sadly, unlike my dad in engineering, I have feet of clay. Hopefully Phyllida and I will stand long enough to let the Light of Jesus shine out of us clearly and visibly. Only time will tell. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			19 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. John 5:19 ESV	I loved my father very much. He was a special man. He always seemed to do things, far better than I can. His hands, once rough through working, appeared to have a skill, Which I would love to emulate, but think I never will. In engineering he was good. He worked throughout the war, Mending broken turbines, that England needed for, Producing electricity, for armament and tanks; To help with the war effort and to support the Yanks. They didn’t supervise him. They left him on his own, Because his problem-solving was best done all alone! He was my boyhood hero and later, as I grew, I found I was more like him than anyone I knew. They’d look at me and father. He looked so like his son! They thought we were twin brothers; I thought that it was fun. The people said to “see me” was also seeing him. Though twenty five years older some thought he was my twin! The thing that I was missing was his ability. His touch for engineering and his dexterity, Was something I could emulate, but never quite succeed. And though I am well qualified, his life I’d never lead. I tried to only ever do, the things which he had said. I tried to do them his way, so I could get ahead. If this could have continued, I’m sure I could have been, A somewhat better engineer than what my peers have seen! He passed away five years ago. His age was eighty nine. And everything that he possessed; each little bit is mine. But it is not a substitute for walking with my Dad, The way that I have tried to do since I was just a lad. But now there is a problem which came as quite a shock. I know in engineering, he surely was my rock. But now the strangest thing I’ve found is happening to me. I’ve found there are some menfolk, who’ve said they want to be, Touched by what I’ve learned about, upon life’s busy road. I didn’t think they’d see it; but somehow I have sowed, A life in Christianity these people have admired! A life that every one of them has said they have desired. This makes me very frightened; for Jesus Christ has done, A sovereign work within me, as an adopted son. We have the self-same Father. But when men look to me, It isn’t the Lord Jesus whom all these people see. So I have told them follow me as I follow the Lord. He is the one to emulate and ought to be adored. So life has gone full circle and I will soon be gone; And in the strength of Christ alone, they all must carry on. Jim Strickland Written 29th Sept. 2012
			6 The LORD gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6 GW
			15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. Luke 21:15 TNIV
			14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalms 27:14 ESV
			9 But he said to me, "My grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak." So I am very happy to brag about how weak I am. Then Christ's power can rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIrV
			1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Jude 1:1 ESV
			11 For He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, Hebrews 2:11 ESV
			24 Can anyone hide from Me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?" says the LORD. Jeremiah 23:24 NLT
			23 The church is Christ's body. It is filled by Christ. He fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:23 NIrV
			11 I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no other Saviour. Isaiah 43:11 NLT
			42 They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world." John 4:42 TNIV
			4 I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour give you grace and peace. Titus 1:4 NLT