A BLOOD BOND

 

    On the morning of September 22, I was watching the "Today Show" on NBC while walking on a treadmill at the local YMCA. They were featuring two men who had worked side-by-side at the same furniture warehouse. They would, on occasion, speak to one another, but that was about as far as it went. Then other employees began joking how much the two men looked alike. "You guys look so much alike you could be brothers!"

    One of the men, just out of curiosity, and knowing he had been adopted, decided to see if he could trace a biological family tree. He mentioned this to his "look-alike" co-worker.  The other man mentioned that he had also been adopted when he was a child. To make a long story short, the men discovered that they really were biological brothers!

    Their relationship immediately changed for the good. No longer just a passing "How ya doing?" Now a much deeper relationship  developed. They met and talked together, ate together, and in general became an intricate part of each other's life.

    Together, they continued the biological background search, and discovered they had a sister who had also been adopted-out. They found her, and the three of them became inseperable in their relationship. All three were on the program together explaining their joy and excitement.

    One of the amazing things to me as I considered the "happy reunion," was that these people looked like ordinary people! They could have passed each other on the sidewalk, or while walking in a Mall, or have been standing together in the check-out lane at Walmart, and would have never paid any attention to one another! Now such a "bla-zay" encounter would be impossible! Why? Because they discovered they had a common blood bond. They were excited to be in the presence of one another, anxious to learn about each other, and willing to do anything that would heighten their relationships.

    I thought to myself, that's how it ought to be between Christians.  After all, we have a much more intense, as well as an eternal "Blood bond" having been adopted into the Family of God by the Blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:5-7). We should be excited to be in each other's presence at every possible assembly;  anxious to learn about and help each other, and willing to do anything that would heighten our spiritual relationships.

                                                                - Toby Miller