I have twin girls.
They’re identical…except….well, let me explain.
Identical twins happen in about three out of every 1000 live births. And then only 23 percent out of that 3/1000 are a rarity called Mirror Image twins, which basically means that they are identical opposites. One is right-handed, the other left, etc. Everything one does the other does EXACTLY the same…except EXACTLY the opposite.
Puzzling, no?
I found it particularly strange when my right-handed twin would lose her right top tooth at the exact same time my left-handed girl would lose her left top tooth.
They’re also exact opposites in the way they behave. One is free-spirited and exuberant. The other is cautious and thoughtful. One considers INTENT, while the other considers BEHAVIOR. One likes PRINCIPLES, while the other likes RULES. (And the one who likes rules really likes rules. She craves them. Once, she declared to me, “Mommy, I shouldn’t have drank that 7UP! I’m not seven and up yet. I’m only six!”) These two girls on their own would be a little out of balance, but God made them to go together and somehow they manage to even each other out. A match made in Heaven.
I’m not going to lie. Sometimes, I refer to them as Law and Grace, because like my precious little twins, the two really work together nicely.
I have this picture of my girls. In it, a nurturing Grace is holding an exhausted Law, and there is such tenderness between the two that I find myself moved every time I look at it. You see, I think this is really how it works on a spiritual level. Jesus says (in Matt 5:17) that He didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He took something that was tired and exhausted and wrapped it in His Grace, and BOOM…together, they work. Identical opposites. A complete set. Mirror Image twins, if you will.
If you are striving, I want you to stop today and understand that Christ’s work was enough for you. You’re not going to find your salvation in being good enough. It was all taken care of through Christ’s work on the cross. But He doesn’t stop with His good work of salvation. Unfold his arms of grace around you and take a closer look. He’s shaping you and molding you in ways that will only serve to complete His good work in you. Just like my daughters, those identical opposites…. they find fulfillment and completion in one another.
A match made in Heaven.