Thinking about the face of Christ.

We often consider Jesus in our own likeness rather than looking at ourselves from His perspective. Jesus Christ was both man and God, in His humanity the fact that He was God was seen in the way He lived, talked and acted. When we seek to know the presence of Jesus in our lives, we need to consider that the presence of God is closely linked to the concept of the face of God. How wonderful is the face of Jesus! Yet when He lived on earth, men and women saw no beauty in His appearance, they despised and rejected Him (Isaiah 53:2-3). Isaiah says that men ‘hide their faces’ from Him. To follow Jesus is not always the most outwardly appealing thought; it is not always the fashionable or stylish thing to do. Yet the face of Jesus is blessed, most wonderfully and awesomely scarred by the crown of thorns which they pressed upon His brow. He is our King.
When we consider our own spiritual life, are we more concerned with our outward appearance of the Christian life rather than the inward reality of the Holy Spirit cleansing us by the blood of Jesus? Are we more concerned with fitting in with the rest of society by the way we look, rather than following the ways of Jesus and considering not our lives unto death?
In Revelation 1:14 -16 we read of the exalted and risen Christ, glorified in the presence of His Father, His head and hair are white like wool and snow – this is not skin deep, it is inner beauty and holiness, it is part of who He is. His eyes are like blazing fire, full of passion and love, true ‘vision’ of which many people speak about should come out of the eyes of Jesus, giving us clear motives and pure intentions. Many churches and ministries fail at this point, Jesus who is to be the head of the church is never consulted, or worse ignored, many still turn their faces away from the face of Jesus today because they see no beauty there.
The full vision of His face is described as ‘the sun shining in all its brilliance’, a life giving power, so awesome and devastating that like the apostle John, that as we see who Jesus is would fall at His feet as dead and feel the comforting touch of His hand and hear his words of authority and blessing.
Matthew Armstrong
Blantyre, November 2009.