Sitting in the doctor’s office the other day, I came across a National Geographic Magazine piece titled, “The Story of a Face.”
Joanna Connors writes: “We are born seeking faces. Newborns turn toward them during their first moments out of the womb. Babies observe, respond to, and mimic our expressions as though it’s their job. And in a way, it is. This close study of faces is the way we all begin to understand the curious business of being human.”
This: “We are born seeking faces.”
Within the human soul, there is only one Face we truly seek. It’s the Face lost long ago in the Garden of Eden. What made the Garden paradise was not the landscape, but the presence, the Face of God.
Paradise was lost due to the pursuit of happiness and pleasure outside of God. Paradise became thorns. Happiness turned to guilt and shame. Pleasure, pain. Freedom, bondage. Then a sword held by the angel of God to keep us from seeing this Face ever again.
We didn’t lose paradise.
We lost. God’s. Face.
The human cry has been to look upon this Face again.
G.K. Chesterton wrote: “Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God.”
Every man and woman who knocks on the door of pornography, one-night stands, affairs, promiscuous sex, addiction, seeking pleasure for pleasure itself, or seeking any pleasure(s) outside of God is looking for God. Looking for the pleasure, the love, the worth, the meaning, the One Face to pierce the heart with lasting freedom and joy again.
We can walk into a room of faces with nothing to prove and nothing to lose when we look upon this Face.
We can be free from comparing and staring at other faces on social media to find our worth and value when we seek this Face.
The greatest joy and peace we can know is to have this Face shining upon ours (Numbers 6:25-26).
This is the only Face that matters. It’s the One Face to seek. And it’s this Face that also seeks us. “You [God] have said, “Seek My Face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek” (Psalm 27:8).
On the cross, Jesus lost the Face of God to bring God’s Face back to us. The thorns from Eden Jesus took upon his brow. The sword that forever blocked our way back to God’s Face Jesus took upon His soul.
So we could get God’s Face back.
Whose face will you seek?
Your reason for living is found in your answer.
I seek God’s Face!! I try to seek It when I Iook into other’s faces. I should find it in mine, too, since we were made in His image, His Face.
Thanks for sharing, Phyllis!
Seeking His presence has to be the most important thing in all of our lives. This act of worship is our indication that we have responded to His unconditional Love for us. There is joy in the face of the Lord.
Thanks, Dan!
Thank you for this post, Pastor. Because of the Lord’s promise to the Church to heal our land in 2 Chronicles 7:14, I have been praying a lot about this. I weep each day as our land certainly does need healing.
Just a few days ago on July 22, we saw the incredible video of lightening striking the Statue of Liberty – our cherished symbol of freedom for all people throughout the world.
This brought me back to last July of 2019. In the margin of my Bible next to Joel 1:13-15 (“A Call to Lamentation” NIV), I have written, “7-31-19 Lightening struck Statue of Liberty today.”
I take this most recent lightening strike as yet another frightening but loving reminder for Christians that our freedom and God’s Grace is not a license to continue living in sin.
May we truly and urgently humble ourselves, pray, seek His Face, and turn from our wicked ways.
I guess Joan Benedict’s comment dated today (July 28, 2020) activated an email notification to my inbox since I am one of your blog subscribers. I THINK thats how that works, but not entirely sure. LOL. Its an all at battle against the enemy #2020 #COVID. Although I love The Lord’s decadent creation in humans, sky, water, land and atmosphere…I can’t wait to sit on His lap and never let go.