{"id":742,"date":"2021-05-25T09:35:10","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T13:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=742"},"modified":"2021-05-25T09:35:10","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T13:35:10","slug":"seeing-gods-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/25\/seeing-gods-face\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing God’s Face"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Imagine not being able to recognize faces.

That\u2019s the central characteristic of a neurological disorder called prosopagnosia<\/em>, or \u201cface blindness.\u201d 

The term combines the Greek words for \u201cface\u201d and \u201clack of knowledge\u201d (agnosia<\/em> is related to agnosticism<\/em>, the theological position of those who don\u2019t know if God exists). 

Neurologists are still trying to unravel its mysteries.  Prosopagnosia seems to be related to damage sustained in or around a single fold of brain tissue.  The impairment may result from a stroke or head injury, although it\u2019s clear in some cases the condition has been inherited.  The symptoms may be mild, moderate, or severe. 

What no one disputes is that the struggle to recognize faces \u2013 including the faces of your spouse, children, closest friends, and even your own face in a mirror \u2013 has major relational implications.

Victoria, the current crown princess of Sweden, has prosopagnosia.  So does British actor and comedian Stephen Fry, famous for his roles in V for Vendetta<\/em> and the Hobbit<\/em> movies. 

Jane Goodall, who has spent much of her life in the highland forests of Tanzania, where she became the world\u2019s foremost expert on chimpanzees, has learned to differentiate between chimps.  But it\u2019s harder for her to identify human beings. 

The late neurologist Oliver Sacks, who declared the human brain to be \u201cthe most incredible thing in the universe,\u201d was well aware of the fact that his own brain was compromised when it came to facial recognition.  Even after 10 years, he couldn\u2019t identify his own administrative assistant.  He once told an interviewer that he learned to recognize people by other means \u2013 \u201cyour shirts, your voice, your pants.\u201d  He added, \u201cOn several occasions I have apologized for almost bumping into a large bearded man, only to realize that the large bearded man was myself in a mirror.\u201d

Then there\u2019s actor Brad Pitt, who told an Esquire<\/em> interviewer, \u201cSo many people hate me because they think I\u2019m disrespecting them\u2026 That\u2019s [one reason] why I stay home.  You meet so many people.  And then you meet \u2018em again.\u201d 

I\u2019ve long suspected that my face induces a special neurological condition in other people, which might explain why I\u2019ve so often been mistaken for Brad Pitt. 

When we turn to Scripture, the face that gets more attention than any other is the face of God.

The biblical references, as it turns out, are an interesting lot. 

First we learn (as God says to Moses), \u201cYou cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.\u201d (Exodus 33:20)  That would seem to preclude any possibility of standing directly in God\u2019s presence.  Throughout the Old Testament, however, there remains a deep longing to see God.  \u201cMy heart says of you, \u2018Seek his face!\u2019  Your face, Lord, I will seek.\u201d (Psalm 27:8)  Jesus makes this statement in the Beatitudes:  \u201cBlessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.\u201d (Matthew 5:8)  Later on, John the evangelist adds:  \u201cWe know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.\u201d (I John 3:2)  And then we read one of the Bible\u2019s most dramatic promises \u2013 a snapshot of what we\u2019ll experience in heaven: \u201cThey will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.\u201d (Revelation 22:4)

What are we to make of these fascinating verses?

We begin by acknowledging that God\u2019s \u201cface\u201d is a Hebrew figure of speech, not a flesh-and-blood reality.  God is incorporeal.  He\u2019s not limited by a physical body. 

When we read about God\u2019s strong arms, the palms of his hands, and his eyes that roam the earth looking for those who are faithful, the Bible\u2019s authors are expressing aspects of God\u2019s character, not physical realities that we might one day see or touch.

So what does it mean to seek God\u2019s face?

We get a clue from the famous \u201cAaronic blessing,\u201d the gracious words that Aaron, Israel\u2019s first high priest, would speak over God\u2019s people:  \u201cThe Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.\u201d (Numbers 6:24-26)

Those two references to God\u2019s face would resonate with the Israelites in terms of entering the presence of a very important person \u2013 a king, perhaps.

What was the greatest honor that could possibly be bestowed upon an ordinary person?  Maybe, just maybe \u2013 on an occasion never to be forgotten \u2013 they might catch a glimpse of a royal face.  The king might even look in their direction.  Better still, the king\u2019s face might shine<\/em>.

We all know what a shining face means. 

When a parent showers unconditional love on a child (\u201cI\u2019m so proud of you!<\/em>\u201d), that mom or dad\u2019s face glows.  When a bride and groom look into each other\u2019s eyes for the first time on their wedding day, their faces shine.  When siblings or friends or old rivals finally bury the hatchet and forgive each other all their foolish sins, they look at each other with immeasurable relief and hope. 

To seek God\u2019s face is a way of saying, \u201cLord, I want you to look at my life today, with its crazy mixture of things that are just right and other things that are oh-so-wrong, and smile.  Please tell me again that you love me, and that by your grace and power, everything will be all right.\u201d

In this world, no one can say for sure what God will allow us to \u201csee\u201d of himself in the New Creation. 

We know we cannot see his face today.  But we also know that he can see us<\/em>.

And that may be even better. 
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine not being able to recognize faces. That\u2019s the central characteristic of a neurological disorder called prosopagnosia, or \u201cface blindness.\u201d  The term combines the Greek words for \u201cface\u201d and \u201clack of knowledge\u201d (agnosia is related to agnosticism, the theological position of those who don\u2019t know if God exists).  Neurologists are still trying to unravel its mysteries.  Prosopagnosia seems to be… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":743,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[243],"class_list":["post-742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-seeking-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":744,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions\/744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}