A Strong Bond

Scriptures: Isaiah 65:17-25; John 20:1-18

Key Verse: “Before they call out, I’ll answer. Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.” (Isaiah 65:24)

After knowing my husband for 29 years and being married for 27 years, we really get each other. We’re totally at the point where we can finish each other’s sentences. Not only that, we also have a strong bond of understanding between us. Another interesting thing is that the longer we are together, we begin to look alike even though I'm an Asian and he is Latino. It’s called “夫 fu 妻 qi 臉 lian - Couple Faces”.

At the end of last year, my husband, my daughter, and I were interested in learning about our health with insights from our genetic data, so we got 23andMe kits and sent in our samples. My ancestry isn’t that exciting as 100% Chinese, but my husband’s is around 50% south European and 50% native American, and less than 1% Asian. This led me to wonder, how did we end up looking alike? There are actually psychological and scientifically proven reasons behind the weird phenomenon of why there are many couples that look alike..

I found a pretty interesting post on Bright Side’s website. It says that throughout their life together, a couple experiences a great deal of happy and sad moments. Everything they go through together as a couple affects their habits, body language, emotional state and lifestyles. Eventually, the couple even generates similar immune systems. Their history is “written” on their faces, as even a couple’s wrinkles form in the same places. And the more marital happiness a couple has, the greater their increase in facial resemblance.

It is interesting to read in John 20:14 that Mary didn’t recognize the resurrected Jesus. Jesus had suffered, died and resurrected in less than 3 days. It must have been intense and dramatic, which none of us can even picture or describe in words. How could these 3 days change Jesus’ face? I wonder if God’s image in Christ had also changed majestically. And how our joining the life of Christ will also change our habits, body language, emotional state, lifestyle, and even our faith - immune systems?

Throughout the Bible, God has not only called His people as children but also spouses such as in Ezekiel 16 and Isaiah 54 from the Old Testament, and Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:19-20, Luke 5:34-35, John 3:29, and Revelation 19:7-9; 21:2 from the New Testament.

We all have been given time and reminded to stay close to God as much as we can for the last 40 days and 6 little Easter Sundays. And for the rest of Easter Season, I would encourage you to practice the embodiment of God’s love intentionally for the rest of 50 days. The more we stay closer to God, and the more we practice the embodiment of God’s love, Jesus’ prayers for us in John 17:20-23 will be answered:

I’m praying not only for them. But also for those who will believe in me. Because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they’ll be as unified and together as we are—I in them and you in me. Then they’ll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them. In the same way you’ve loved me.

Amen.