We have a new granddaughter; her name is Harper Kensleigh, and she is beautiful. She lives in New York so I have yet to hold her, but I saw her face a short time after she was born thanks to a wonderful feature on my iPhone, called FaceTime. We could see her daddy holding her as tears came to his eyes. He introduced her as his precious miracle of God. All we could see was her little face peeking out of her cocoon of blankets. Oh, how I longed to kiss that tiny face, and will in a few days.
Face! Have you ever thought about how many ways we use the word face? How will we face tomorrow? She put a cheerful face on the situation or he needs to face up? Our bible is also full of references to “face”. The face of God is used, multiple times, as in Numbers 6:25-26.
The LORD makes his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and gives you peace.
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And Psalm 31:16 says.
Make Your face to shine upon Your servant; Save me in Your lovingkindness.
Everyone knows someone who has a perpetual sour face. Most would say she had a face that looked like she just sucked on a lemon. On the other end of the spectrum, we know people who exhibit nonstop joy on their faces. I prefer the joyful face myself.
After her retirement, my grandma came to stay with us for a couple of weeks at a time. Having a family of three boys and a girl in a tiny house, it was normally a little loud and a lot crazy.
In these times, she would sneak off to her room for a while to pray and regain her peace. After a few quiet minutes, she would come to us smiling to the point there was a fresh glow on her face.
After being in the presence of God on Mount Sinai, Moses’ face was radiant, the bible tells us in Exodus. It shined so brightly that Aaron, his brother, and all the Israelites were afraid of him until he spoke to them. The bible says that each time Moses was with the LORD, his face again would be radiant. I could do without the glowing face, but I hope that my face and my life reflect the peace that comes from talking with God the Father and Jesus Christ each morning. Unfortunately, my “glow” sometimes leaves me as I face the hectic world we live in and the problems of just living. Again, like Moses, I must go to God to receive His light.
As I kiss the face of my sweet Harper Kensleigh, my prayer is that someday she will seek the face of God and that the God of her parents and grandparents will “Make His face shine upon her and save her with His loving kindness.”
Do you smile more after thinking about Jesus?