“Receiving the Face”

Let's face it, we are a "face" oriented society. We judge on appearances. We value the beautiful, the stylish, the "cool", the successful. If you have your face on a magazine cover, you have made it! It's no surprise that we interact of "Facebook". This is all well and good, if you have the right appearance.

But we all know the pain of being judged by appearances. It hurts when we experience prejudice, partiality, stereotyping, profiling, and favoritism. The Bible calls such discrimination "receiving the face" (James 2:1).

But the church is a place where we are called to "receive the heart". We are to look past appearances into the "true self". The Gospel demands that we love indiscriminately. What does the gospel teach us? The gospel tells us that:

"I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but, through Christ, I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. " (Tim Keller)

If we see ourselves (and all others) as weak and helpless sinners – in spite of what we project in our appearance – then we can experience a heart of mercy for all people, rich or poor, beautiful or plain, privileged or marginalized. The person who seems to have everything together is spiritually bankrupt apart from Christ. We should love them out of mercy! The person who seems dull or disadvantages – and yet a follower of Jesus – is chosen by God, rich in faith, and heir of God's kingdom, and a lover of God (James 2:5). We should love them out of honor!

So, let us love as we are loved – freely, passionately, unconditionally, and indiscriminately!

The well wisher of your soul's happiness,

Pastor Tom