I know everyone says that no one can see the face of God and live. This is because the experience would be so intense, so overwhelming. But I believe that I have seen the face of God; in fact, I have seen it everyday - in the face of my son. No, I don't believe that I have given birth to the Messiah. I just mean that I look in his face, which the Bible tells us we are made in God's image, and I see God.
This morning I was looking in my 3 month-old son's face after suffering through "one of those mornings." The trouble that I had was nothing major; it was a series of small bumps in the road that made the journey of my morning irritating. My son had just started fussing because he wanted attention; he wanted company, but I was trying to "get some things done." There are always things to get done. I look into his face and ask him what's wrong. He stops fussing and just looks at me. It was one of those intense looks you get from someone who is seriously trying to "read" you - read your mind, your emotions. He made better eye contact with me than most adults do. I actually consciously thought that I needed to break eye contact or he would know exactly what I was thinking - a baby! It was just then that I marveled at the miracle that both he and my 5 year-old daughter are. I had just thought of the wisdom that appeared in the look he was giving me when he smiled at me. It was a knowing smile. I thought to myself "This is the face of God," and my baby laughed.
Now that I'm writing this, I realize how it sounds... You may be thinking that my baby's laugh was laughing at my "craziness," but you would only think that if you'd never heard a baby's laugh. A baby's laugh has too much joy in it to be mean or derisive. This was the face of that person in your life who can always help you re-focus on the things in life that really matter and laugh at those things that don't. But don't misunderstand me, it is not only in my son's face that I see God. I see His face in my daughter when she catches me (or my husband) doing something that we're trying to teach her NOT to do. She's also very good at quoting back to us exactly what we usually say to her! This is the face of the person in your life who keeps you in check and doesn't let you get away with anything.
It's not just me being a doting mother. I've seen His face in the nice woman who took pity on me in the ER. I was seriously dehydrated from my bout with severe morning sickness. I was shaking with reaction from throwing up while waiting my turn. She worked for the hospital, but she was not in the position to get me helped any faster. This woman saw my need and brought me blankets to stop the shaking. She comforted me with words; she continued to check on me; and she provided a reclined stretcher for me to sit/lay on. She arranged for me to be re-triaged and for my blood work to be taken there instead of waiting until an ER bed opened up. Then she checked on me in my ER room before she left the hospital because her shift was over. This was the face of the parent who sees her child suffering and her heart aches.
I saw His face in my dying aunt years ago when I was a teenager. She was special to me because she was my godmother. She was dying, and we all knew it including her. She was a feisty Irish woman who I looked up to, but the last time that I saw her... Let's just say that she wasn't herself. At fifteen, I had a hard time dealing with her impending death and also had a hard time hiding that from her. When it was time for my mother and I to leave, we all knew that this was very likely the last time either of us would see her alive. I tried to say all that I needed to say but absolutely nothing came out of my mouth. The look in her eyes and the way that she squeezed my hand said that she understood everything and that I didn't need to say anything. This was the face of the person in your life who totally understands you without words.
These people showed me the face of God. I am learning to look for Him in the people I see. He doesn't hide from us like most people would like us to believe. You see His face everyday; look at the people around you. You see His hand everyday; look at the world around you - the grass, flowers, and trees. Tomorrow morning when you wake up, let your first thought not be: "Oh God, I've got to go to work today!" Let it be: "Oh God, in who will I see Your face today?"
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