I've just got one of those faces.
I'm not good at hiding my feelings.
Take for instance, meetings.
I mean business type meetings.
I find most of them insanely boring.
I dislike them with a bit of a passion.
Being a Salvation Army Officer means I unfortunately have to attend my fair share of pointless meetings.
And my face?
Usually let's people know I am not really interested in it or worse not pleased to be there.
And.
My face can change the atmosphere in a room.
I honestly wish it didn't.
It gets me into trouble sometimes. If not with the people who's atmosphere it changed, then definitely with Dawn when I get home!
She always says to me, "Couldn't you have put a smile on your face."
I'm a bit of a "wear your heart on your sleeve" type of guy, probably not always a great policy.
In short my face reflects what I'm feeling inside sometimes.
Proverbs 27: 19 says, Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart. (Message)
As I take a look at that verse it gets me thinking about reflection.
In terms of face reflecting the heart.
Hey, how often do I reflect the heart of Jesus to the world?
If my face can change a room, then how can it change a room, or a person, or a situation for good?
More to the point, I need to make sure that happens.
And.
Thinking about it, my mind centered on the church.
How does the face of the church reflect the heart of God?
And my head returned to a night in my life.
A bad night.
One that I actually felt ashamed of being a part of the church.
I had been invited to speak at a large City Carol service. I had mentioned it to a guy who was homeless and said he should come, and I'd get him some Chips afterwards.
There was a few thousand people there and I was seated at the front so I couldn't see if he had showed up or not. The event came and went. The next day I met this guy. He said he had showed up but was turned away at the door.
In his words, he said it was probably because he was dirty.
A night to forget for the church.
A night when the church did not reflect the heart of Jesus.
Or at least some member of the church didn't.
The Spirit of God says we have to do better.
We need some radiance.
Those who look to Him are radiant. Their faces are never covered with shame. (Psalm 34: 5)
Maybe there's the key.
Maybe there is the simple key to unlock the door to our faces and let our hearts reach it.
Look to God.
Fix our eyes on him.
More than ever the church needs to take its eyes off religion and fix them on Jesus. And in that gaze a relationship begins, a relationship between a saviour and the church that will impact this world in a an amazing way.
Because if our eyes were truly on Jesus then no one would ever be turned away from the church. No one would ever go home unforgiven, no one would ever be denied compassion, no one would not be mobilised by leadership, we wouldn't have superstar preachers, no one would be deprived of Heavens Justice. No one would feel unwelcome. Everyone would be loved.
Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.
For all of us who call ourselves the church, that tiny proverb carries a big message.
A message straight from God.
I pray that the face of the church will change not only a room but change this world. That it will reflect what is in its heart, and if we are looking to God, locking into a living relationship with him, then what is in its heart should be Jesus Christ himself! Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Then we will be radiant.
I pray that an avalanche of radiance will be reflected from our hearts.
Now.
I'm going to work on my face this year! No not cosmetic surgery! But on how it is reflecting my heart. And to do that I need to work even harder on whats in my heart for sure.
For a time such as this.
