We Look Just Like Him

My daughter-in-love grew up in Annapolis.
Her father was in the Navy.
After moving around for many years, Annapolis became the family’s home base.
Going to school in the Baltimore area opened her eyes.

There were so many students that did not have the same color skin as hers.
In fact, she stood out quite a bit since she is extremely fair skinned and has blond hair.
That was just the way it was in her growing up years.
She loved it.

When the American Girl dolls became popular, she asked for one for Christmas.
She did not ask for a doll that looked like her.
She asked for a doll that looked like her friends at school.
She loved her doll just like she loved her friends.

She told me how grateful she was that she grew up in that environment.
No one talked about diversity.
They were her friends.
She cared more about their heart than the color of their skin.

I could picture my daughter-in-love walking around as a young girl carrying her doll.
I could picture her fair skin and the doll’s dark skin.
I could picture her white blond hair and the doll’s curly dark hair.
I could picture her bright blue eyes and the doll’s brown eyes.

It made me smile to imagine my sweet daughter-in-love as a little girl.
A girl who respected people.
A girl who genuinely loved her friends.
A girl who was loved in return.

I thought about the doll when I went to see a show with my son and daughter-in-love.
We have gone to this theater many times when my children were growing up.
It is a theater where the Bible comes alive.
My children have seen almost every show they have produced over the years.

This was the first time my daughter-in-love saw a show at this theater.
She was literally sitting on the edge of her seat.
Live animals are part of the performance.
The special effects are spectacular.

The show this year is simply called, Jesus.
It follows Jesus during his earthly ministry.
It follows Jesus through His death and resurrection.
My son and I looked at each other during the show and smiled at her reactions.

It was wonderful to see this live theater through her eyes.
She did not know where to look.
When the birds flew overhead and the camels came down the main aisle, she was thrilled.
We actually felt the wind and the spray of the water during the storm at sea.

When the show began, Jesus was in the boat with His disciples.
I heard Jesus speak to John.
I looked at John and noticed that he was not the same color as Jesus.
John and his brother, James, had dark skin while Jesus had white skin.

The mother of James and John asked Jesus for special thrones for her sons.
She, like her sons, had dark skin.
It was wonderful.
At first, it surprised me.

I have a picture in my mind of how Jesus and His disciples looked.
My picture is probably 100% wrong.
Jesus was a Middle Eastern man who was likely short in stature with dark skin.
Jesus in my mind, looks like me.

I thought about that for days after the show.
I had my own suppositions about the appearance of Jesus and the disciples.
My suppositions were based on what is familiar to me.
How I appreciated what the producer did with this production.

The producer made us think.
He brought us out of the comfortable box we have made.
He did not type cast the disciples.
He chose to make the disciples look like all of us in the audience.

I thought of my daughter-in-love and her doll.
I thought of James and John and their mother.
My daughter-in-love never thought twice about it.
How grateful I am for the producer’s vision.

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him punished by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 
(Isaiah 53:2-5)

After the show, I thought about how people see Jesus.
We imagine Him to look just like us.
We are made in the image of God.
All of our different features and all of our different colors reflect Him.

Each of us are made in Jesus’ image.
We are made to look just like Him.
How beautiful Jesus must be.
Can you imagine?

(Some Children See Him, by Alfred Burt; performed by James Taylor)

Some children see Him lily white,
The baby Jesus born this night.
Some children see Him lily white,
With tresses soft and fair.

Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
The Lord of heav’n to earth come down.
Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
With dark and heavy hair.

Some children see Him almond-eyed,
This Savior whom we kneel beside.
Some children see Him almond-eyed,
With skin of golden hue.

Some children see Him dark as they,
Sweet Mary’s Son to whom we pray.
Some children see him dark as they,
And oh, they love Him too!

The children in each different place,
Will see the baby Jesus’ face,
Like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace,
And filled with holy light.

O lay aside each earthly thing,
And with thy heart as offering,
Come worship now the infant King.
‘Tis love that’s born tonight!

2 responses to “We Look Just Like Him”

1. What a message of unity which we need so much! Thank you, Gina.

   Reply

   • Sue,
     Kindness and respect goes a long way.
     We are all made in the image of God.
     Gina

     Reply