Keith Green penned “O Lord, You’re Beautiful; Your face is all I seek.” In another song we sing “I want to know you; I want to hear your voice; I want to know you more; I want to touch you; I want to see your face; I want to know you more.”
How many times have we sung these kinds of songs and had this image in our minds?
It was a Sunday service in Worcester, South Africa, when we were singing a song I’d never heard and haven’t heard since. In the song I found myself singing that I wanted to see the face of Jesus. Since I really had no idea what that meant, to want to see Jesus’ face, I began to pray.
“God, what does that mean? What does it mean to see Jesus’ face? Is it really to see up into Heaven and see You smiling down upon me? What does it mean???”
Believe it or not, God spoke straight away into my heart.
What did He say?
“That’s a stupid question, Bryan.”
No, not really. Just kidding. What He said was…
Romans 8:29.
That’s not a typo. I didn’t mean to say Romans 8:28, even though that would be a verse I might think of because it is so familiar. I had no idea what Romans 8:29 said, even though it was right next to Romans 8:28. I had to look it up.
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers.”
To the image of His Son.
To the image, the likeness… the face… of His Son.
I looked around the room at all the people singing in praise of the Father and realized that I was looking at many faces of Jesus. I was looking at the representatives of Jesus. The ambassadors. The ones who are being conformed into His image. The ones who are Righteous because of His blood. The ones who bear His name. The ones who are adopted as sons and daughters of a living King!
“Thank you, God!! Thank you for answering my question! Help me always to see You in the faces of my brothers and sisters, loving them as You love me.”
Amen.
