This week I have been enthralled by a video someone sent me. I just checked…it’s gone viral. Maybe you’ve seen it. The video is of identical quadruplets hugging one another. Not just once, or twice, but 18 hugs among the siblings over the course of about a minute and a half. The parents report that there was no real lead-up to this event. They were in their jammies in the living room, and had just finished watching a Disney movie, and they looked at one another and just started hugging. And not just regular hugging, but reciprocal hugging, excited and joyful hugging, I’m-gonna-go-out-of-my-way-to-hug-you hugging. Each time one sister moves to hug another, there is a small eruption of joy, which I’m sure translates to, “I just love you!” Is this a reflection of something that has been modelled to them? Is this affection something that they innately have deep within their characters?

Which got me thinking about how we reflect the character of Jesus, which has been modelled and is also deeply rooted in us when we choose to follow Him. This doesn’t mean we need to throw our hands in the air and hug every person we see (no shame in that tho!), but it should mean that we treat all people equally, or with the same amount of respect and dignity as someone we would embrace.

In the Face to Face with Jesus teaching series, we have the opportunity to experience several accounts of people encountering Jesus—some his close friends, others, strangers. But what is striking is his steadfast character regardless of the circumstance. I pray that His character (his love, justice, kindness, self-control…) will be reflected in me as I face the circumstances of life.

—Claire Black

Face to Face With Jesus Teaching Series

Week #2