DOPPELGANGERS

I Was Just Thinking About – DOPPELGANGERS.

I was reading in today’s Our Daily Bread and came across the above word. It’s a German word that means: “a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person.” For the Biblical Christian, there seems to be a unique and purposeful application. Two thoughts came to my mind immediately.

FIRST: The words of an older worship chorus by Albert Osborn and Tom M. Jones.

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me;

All His wonderful passion and purity.

Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine,

Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

SECOND: The words of the Apostle Paul to the Churches.

Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”

I Corinthians 15:45-49, “The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam a life-giving spirit…Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man.”

II Corinthians 3:17-18, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 

Jesus makes an important application to His disciples in terms of how they are to be seen and known in the world. John 13:14-15 shares these words of Jesus: “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so also you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” People will observe the significant quality of the Biblical Christian by their lifestyle, actions and words.

Another factor to consider is given in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Everyone is conformed to something. Paul makes an important distinction for the one who is a Biblical Christian – the world or the perfect will of God.

If one is to be a doppelgänger, it requires a definitive commitment by each individual – the world or the perfect will of God. Consider the words in Ephesians 2:1-4, “As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air...But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ…It is by grace you have been saved!”

What choice have you made for your life and eternity?

Prayerfully – consider these things with me.

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