What Do You See On the Face of God?

At church on Sunday we sang a song called "Give Us Clean Hands" and some of the lyrics have really been sticking with me.  In the chorus we sang, "Oh God let this be a generation that seeks, who seeks your face, Oh God of Jacob."  I have been considering since the moment I sang those word, what it means to seek the face of God.

There are countless Bible verses that reference seeking the face of God and hiding from the face of God, as well as descriptions of the face of God.  But before I had access to my Bible's concordance to start researching these verses, I thought about my two year old, Mary.  She is at such an interesting stage of development where she is learning things like humor, sarcasm, excitement, anger, and right from wrong.  As I see her experience a new emotion, she is quick to look at me, to seek out my face, to interpret how I am reacting to any situation.  It occurred to me that my face reflects my approval or disapproval.  Our children seek our face to know if they should be frightened when a stranger talks to them in the grocery store, to know if you are serious when you are requesting that all of the toys get put away, to know if you are delighting in the silly dance they are performing.  When we seek the face of God, we are looking for His interpretation of our actions.  Is this pleasing to you, God?

In Psalm 27:9-11, David pleads, "Do not hide your face from me, Do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.  Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.  Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.  Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors."  David was a man who spent many of his days running from those who wanted him dead.  King Saul and later, David's own son Absalom, sought to kill him.  Throughout his trials, David continues to seek God's will, to know how he should respond to the oppression he is facing.  He did not seek the advice of his counsel, who had advised him to kill Saul, and was later responsible for killing Absalom.  These verses describe David's dependency on God's approval.  He acknowledges that God is his helper.  He knows that in seeking His face, David will find the way of God, the "straight path."

In the Old Testament, Jacob has an interesting encounter with God where he wrestles with Him.  God renames Jacob "Israel" and tells him it is because "you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."  At the time that this took place, Jacob was returning to the land of his brother Esau, who had wanted to kill him and they were about to make amends.  Jacob names the place Peniel, meaning "face of God," and says, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."  Jacob realized that in the presence of God, his sin was blatant and required justice, but God spared his life and made him the father of the chosen nation of Israel.

How do we seek the face of God with our blatant sins and expect our life to be spared?  How can we expect to see anything on His face but disapproval and anger for the many times we have denied Him?  Isaiah 59:2 warns, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."  This whole chapter of Isaiah is directed at the people of Israel who had turned from God, but it bears striking resemblance to the sins that we see now where "justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.  Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey (verses 14-15)."  But it is mercy that God offers in verse 20, "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins."  (You should read all of chapter 59 to really understand how merciful God was being in offering redemption for repentance.)

Who is this Redeemer who allows us to seek the face of God in the midst of our sin?  2 Corinthians 4:6-7 declares, "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."  Israel was so entrenched in their sin (and you and I, as well) that they could not save themselves from it.  But God still loved them.  As Isaiah 59:16 says, "He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no one to intervene, so His own arm worked salvation for him, and His own righteousness sustained him."  We could not do it for ourselves, so He sent His Son to redeem us from the sins that we were slave to.

When you seek the face of God, know that it is a face of compassion that is looking back at you.  It is the face that offered the greatest sacrifice so that He would not have to turn His face away in anger.  It is the face of a Father who leads you with His Word to know His Will, His Comfort, and His Strength.  When God looks upon your face, He does not see the face of a sinner, but the face of His Son, the face of love.