What's on Your Face?

I'll never forget when I saw the picture of me that my wife took after the STP. I had just finished riding my bike from Seattle to Portland, 206 miles, in one day. It took 15 hours including rest stops. I didn't feel that bad when I got to the finish line at the park in downtown Portland. Boy, did I look rough! My face was grimy from the road and every feature clearly displayed the exhaustion in my body. It was truly a picture worth a thousand words.

In Acts 6 Luke reports, "All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel." (Acts 6:15). This was not an occasion on which you would expect Stephen to have a joyful or peaceful or bright countenance. Stephen was under arrest and on trial before the Sanhedrin. Surely this disciple knew what happened to Jesus when He was tried before the same body. He should have been anticipating the worst. Wouldn't his face reflect worry, fear, or perhaps even anger at being unjustly seized, and having false accusations flung at him? But his face was like an angel.

Ecclesiastes 8:1 tells us: "Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance." Stephen possessed the true widsom that comes from above. His face shone like Moses did after he had been with God on the mountain. He face was aglow like Jesus' was on the mount of transfiguration. His face reflected his faith, and it caused those in the Sanhedrin to gaze upon him intently.

What does your face reflect? I have to admit that too often my face reflects the worries and fears of the day. Too often my face looks weary and burdened like it did after the STP. This passage really made me think about how my face should reflect my faith.

Paul wrote: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) When we have the Spirit of the Lord in us to enable us to trust in Jesus, then our faces should be like Moses coming down from the mountain aglow, or like Stepehen's, shining like an angel. With the Holy Spirit at work in us through God's Word, we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ with ever increasing glory, and our faces should show it! They should reflect the real freedom we have in Christ from fear and doubt.

Every week at Concordia our Pastors remind us to go out and shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the Word of life. If we try to hold out the Word of life to others while we have gloomy, frightened or angry faces, we won't be doing much shining. So the next time you look in the mirror, don't just think about how your hair is combed or whether your makeup is right. Ask yourself if your face reflects your faith in Jesus. Say a prayer for that to happen. Then go out and SHINE!