Friday, March 10, 2006

Seeing The Face Of God In Jesus

"Today's Devotion" For March 10,2006

Read: Hebrews 12:1-3; II Corinthians 4:1-6

SEEING THE FACE OF GOD IN JESUS

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (II Corinthians 4:6)

It's often been said that "the eyes are the window to the soul." Averting one's eyes from another is often a sign of guilt and remorse for some action that person has taken against the other person. We take great pride in seeing the confidence displayed by a young man or woman who has grown to the point that they can now look their parents in the eye. One popular commercial for the United States Army shows a father talking with his son, a young soldier home on leave, saying, "When you got off that train, you did something you've never done before. You shook my hand and looked me square in the eye. Where did that come from?"

Body language experts tell us that a sure way to tell if someone is lying is to what how they use their eyes. If they are lying you can be certain they won't look you in the eye. If they do "look you in the eye," the direction their eyes looked prior to responding to a query will give them away. Whether someone is telling the truth is also said to be revealed by their eyes.

Throughout the history of the world, human beings have subjugated others. Kings and other royalty had their subjects, most of whom were not allowed to look their king "square in the eye" nor gaze on his face. Subjects were required to bow, walk backwards out of the king's presence, and keep their eyes lowered to the ground. Slavery and indentured servitude have also been means by which people have been subjugated under the power of others. In much the same way as with kings and subjects, neither slaves nor indentured servants were allowed, for the most part, to look their owner or master "square in the eye," but instead were required to avert their faces. Even today, in our own country, there are those among us who have an arrogant and superior, sense of self- importance by which they require a similar obeisance and servitude from those whom they employ to serve their every need.

Although people might expect God to treat us this way (and many religions have gods that do), He does not. When Moses asked God if he could see His glory, God responded, "I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But...you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live...There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see My back; but My face must not be see" (Exodus 33:18-23). God's reason is clear. It wasn't safe for a sinful human being, even one who was one of His greatest prophets, to look at God's face and see the fullness of His glory. Iit was for Moses' protection.

Fast forward to Jesus Christ. We remember that He took Peter, James, and John up on the Mount of Transfiguration with Him and they saw His glory revealed in the presence of Moses (Wow!) and Elijah. They lived. St. Paul declares that in Christ we are no longer in danger of our lives in God's presence for God's glory, which Moses wasn't allowed to see for his own safety, is seen in the face of Christ (II Cor. 4:6).

The writer to the Hebrews encourages us to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). In Christ, God allows us to see His face, because in Christ our sins are forgiven and we stand before the throne of God holy and sinless, washed in the Blood of the Lamb. In Christ we have been brought into the presence of the Father and declared to be His own, precious children. We are, as God children, enslaved and subservient to no one because we are His sons and daughters. Looking on the face of God as we "fix our eyes on Jesus" we are free to know His love and see His glory and speak His name. Washed clean of our sins in Jesus Christ we are able to look at our Father's face with confidence and trust. Now we are free to serve others in His name as people who see the glory of God in the face of Jesus.

Prayer: Father, thank You for loving me so much that You sent Jesus to pay the price for my sins so that I might "see Your face in Him" and live. I praise and glorify Your holy name that I'm no longer a slave to Sin or the wiles of the devil. I praise and glorify Your name that You love me so much as to reveal Yourself to me in Jesus so that I might live in Your love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. As I have received this gift - this forgiveness and knowledge of You - without any worthiness on my part, so also give me the strength and courage to share it freely and confidently with others. Fill me with Your Word and Spirit that I may live as one fully forgiven and who sees Your glory in the face of Jesus; in whose precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2006 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.

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