The Face of God

Ever wondered what the face of God looks like?

What probably first comes to mind is a serene still image of Jesus peacefully extending His arms to the Heavens, or Jesus kneeling and embracing a small child. Or a glimmering image of an Angel. Those are perfectly acceptable and ones I'm fond of gazing upon. I gladly accept those as the images God has given to us as representation of  Himself. But I think He's given us glimpses of Himself in other ways too.

Think of the face of an unborn child. A mother especially yearns to know what her child will look like as she carries him/her in her womb. She envisions the best of herself and the best of her husband molded together in baby bliss. She dreams and ponders, exhausting her imagination. In today's technologically advanced world we try to get as close to the actual image we can with a ultrasounds and now 3D ultrasounds.  We're desperate to know.

Before I even knew my husband and I would have children, and in a Las Vegas casino on our honeymoon, we perched ourselves onto a little round seat in a photo booth that claimed to take a photo of each of us and mash them to create what it thought our children would look like. {Now that's desperate!} We got to pick the gender, and after careful consideration, we chose a girl. We laughed and wondered and waited eagerly as the photo processed.

Beep. Your photo is ready for pickup.

I propped that photo up in my arms and sunk after just a peek at it. I didn't expect to be frightened by a picture of my would-be kid. But I was! I don't know what I was expecting, but it was certainly something better than what it gave me! The booth had falsely advertised with it's cute and cuddly faces it showed as examples. I couldn't bring myself to admit {out loud} I didn't really like what the booth gave me, and I definitely didn't tell my husband of only one or two days. I was already loving this child, I didn't know I would ever have, unconditionally.

Being pregnant with my first child that photo snapped itself back into my mind. I had never been so glad to hear our first born would be a boy! Silly me! That photo booth back in 2000 was a far cry from the beauty that arrived in my arms in 2002 and 2005.

I learned that all that imagining and wondering, the ultrasounds, and photo mash-ups could NEVER come close to the sight of seeing my children's faces for the first time. They were far more beautiful and precious then my small mind could generate.

When I try to imagine what the face of God will look like, I think back to the faces of my children, that first time seeing them, and holding them, smelling them, breathing them in, and the love that flooded my heart. The details that were blurry, sharply came into focus as I held them in my arms. The moment was tender and real. Words cannot convey the beauty and awe I experienced as I gazed into my children's sweet faces.  

When I go to meet my Heavenly Father, I am comforted to know that even in my best attempts to imagine His face, touch, or smell, it will far surpass anything again, my small mind could attempt to generate. He will more than adequately exceed images of a kneeling Jesus or glimmering Angels. Words will not be able to convey the beauty and awe I will experience as I gaze into His sweet face. The details that are blurry now, that I desperately try to visualize, will sharply come into focus as he holds me in His arms.

What do you imagine the face of God to look like?