We received a package. We could not tell from the outside information who sent it. Inside on top of packing was an envelope with my wife’s three-letter name. Instantly she said, “It’s from Patty.” I was amazed. It is not that she receives something from Patty on a regular basis. This is handwriting that appears maybe once or twice a year. How does she do that? She has an exaggerated gift.
We all recognize things by use of pattern recognition. It is the brain’s shorthand for identifying things. We all do it but she seems to do it better than most of us. Often times I can identify people on the phone with the first “Hello” but in a few sentences she can usually tell people where they grew up.
I used to wonder how God could listen to all our prayers and get the right answer to the right prayer and not get confused. For God it is no bigdeal. He knows us by sight, sound and smell. He knows how we walk and talk. The truth is we could never disguise ourselves in anyway that He would not instantly recognize us.
Pattern recognition enables us to know when someone is a fraud. If someone pretends to be a Christian it doesn’t take long before their behavior or speech will betray them. Last evening two of our students were coming to a door. My wife looked up and said, “That’s….” It was dark! She was right. The students could not hide their basic size, shape and manner of walking.
How I wish everyone could always recognize us as having been with Jesus.
Written by Roger Bothwell on October 23, 2008
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574