Have you seen your spiritual face?
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror (James 1:23, ESV)
James compares the man who does not practice the Word to someone who looks at his natural face in a mirror and then forgets how he looks like. This is interesting enough, but today’s devotional will focus on a mystery behind this statement! He says a man looks at his natural face in a mirror. Your face, the one you see in the mirror, which is part of your body, is called your natural face. However, you have a spiritual face.
Let me quickly show you an astonishing truth when applied to God. Moses prayed and asked God to show him His glory. The Lord said to him “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20, ESV). God has a face. However, God does not have a physical body and, therefore, does not face a physical face as we do. The face the Lord is talking about here is spiritual. Your natural face is the embodiment of your person. God’s face is His essential being, His Person and Who He is in the totality of His virtues and qualities.
It gets more interesting. What does it mean to see God’s face? We see our natural face with our natural eyes. How do you see God’s face? Remember, God is spirit, and not flesh. It is going to be very challenging for many of us because we will be tempted to attribute physical qualities to God, who is spirit. You have to renew your mind and train it to understand how the spirit realm works. You see your natural face by looking with your physical eyes. Seeing in the spirit realm is knowing. You see spiritually by knowing. God’s face is the totality of His bein, and His face, and get ready for this is revealed in Jesus! Another day for this!
When we bring this truth back to us, it becomes mind-blowing. You have a natural face and also a spiritual face. Who are you spiritually? Child of God, born of the Spirit, the righteousness of God, the glory of God, etc. You cannot see these spiritual qualities by looking at your natural face. In fact, many people who know you will look at your face and might even see the old you—the failure, addict, train-wreck, sinner, etc. However, they cannot see your spiritual face, because it can only be spiritually discerned.
Can you imagine for a second the importance we all place on a person’s face? Your face is everything! However, God is telling you that He wants you to see your spiritual face. It will radically change your life! Some of you might be feeling rejected, depressed, insecure, discouraged, etc because of what people think when they see your natural face. However, if you will see and focus on your spiritual face, a fresh energy from above will be ignited in you. There is an activation of the power of the Spirit that comes when we see spiritually. And as I have mentioned above, you see spiritually by knowing, and the mirror if the Word of God. You see your spiritual face by the revelation of the Word that comes from the Spirit. I will end with this verse as my prayer for you:
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV).
MEDITATE
Have you seen your spiritual face? The world is obsessed with the body. What about you? What eye has the greatest control over your life, the natural eye or the spirutal eye?
APPLY THE WORD
You looked at your face this morning in the mirror, didn’t you? What if we pay more attention to ensure we see clearly our spiritual face? When was the last time you looked at God’s mirror of the Word to see how you look like? Decide this day that you will clearly see your spiritual face, to know how beautiful, healthy, rich, full of the Spirit, anointed and blessed you are!
PRAY
Ask the Father to ignite a passion in you to see your spiritual face more clearly every day.
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