By Patrick Hawthorne
I was reading a post from one of my favorite blogger friends, IB, in which she was describing a series of dreams she had about baby ducks. Following these dreams, a visiting minister to her church spoke a message from the book of Hebrews. To illustrate his point, the minister used an analogy about baby ducks and how, upon being hatched, they are imprinted by what they first see. For the full post, please visit:
While the post from IB was quite entertaining, the take away for me was not quite so humorous. Immediately upon reading about ducks being imprinted by the first thing they see, I imagined a person being born again by receiving Jesus as their Lord. As with the baby ducks, what is the first imprint these new babies in Christ have as they become a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17)?
Are they being imprinted by a body – the Church – who is guided by the precepts of Titus 2:11-12? “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and world lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age?” Or, are they being imprinted by a body who is wishy-washy in their diligence to the things of the Lord? Better yet, are they being filled with a lot of head knowledge about the Bible but no intimate relationship with the Word (Jesus)?
That is quite a sobering thought when I think about it. The Word tells us to be a light unto the world (Matt 5:16). As I think about my Christian walk, is my light flickering on again and off again? Or is my light as steady as a light house bulb, constantly showing the path to Jesus. Yes, we are to help the lost find their way to Jesus but just as important is the imprint that we make on them after they are saved. Think about it… Be blessed.
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SGM 
Thanks for the mention, Patrick.
And amen! I like were you took this. Where I live it’s a big problem,we need good discipleship, mentorship, the church actually being “the church.” The Holy Spirit does all the work, but we need to be there for people, to support them, to teach them.
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See….I told you that it got me to thinking.
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May we not just have head knowledge but a relationship with God!
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