The Jesus face happened again last Friday night.
My wife and I were guests at a friend’s home to celebrate a birthday and one of the invited families, whom we had not yet met, was late due to traffic. About an hour into the evening, they arrived with their 3 year old boy in tow. In the lead, actually, as he burst through the door first and locked eyes with my wife. She smiled. He smiled. They moved to meet each other as if they were long lost family. He held out his arms to be held tightly. A permanent bond was formed, no doubt.
“What is his name? Obviously you two have met before” I stated after he squirmed down once he realized there were fizzy drinks to be spilled had. “I have never seen him before. Isn’t he cuuuuute? Shouldn’t we just have another one like him? Ask his dad what his name is.” She replied coyly.
This kind of thing happens all the time. Jesus face is very likely to strike while doing something as mundane as Costco shopping. I will be minding my own business, pulling and pushing laden carts along when someone will invariably approach my wife and asks her where to find something or “How does this top match my eyes?” or just strike up a conversation about anything at all. A friendship is born. They easily carry on, looking to the world as if they were old pals. Usually, they will hug farewell and the new friend will say something like, “I feel SO MUCH better now that we have met. Thanks for talking with me.”
The Jesus face phenomena used to irritate me, and it still bugs my teenage boys somewhat. I guess because I am task oriented, I tend to get into my own world with the goal of getting in and out of the store as quickly as possible. She, on the other hand, is in everyone else’s world. I see her reading people, looking them in the eyes, smiling toward them. Her body language says “HELLO! I am safe and want to be your friend now!” Truth: More than once, store employees have approached my wife to ask her questions about their own store. She exudes peace, confidence and authority.
This past Spring all six of the Postmaster family were skiing at Mammoth Mountain in central California. Mom was staying on the easier runs with the two younger kids and the teenage boys tried to kill their dad on the runs marked with multiple diamonds. While us guys were trying to conquer as many runs as possible one one side of the mountain, my wife was on the other side trying to make as many friends as possible. Even under all those layers of clothes and even through the face mask Jesus face happened. At lunchtime, after hearing of our downhill bravery she waits to tell us about the friends she made while waiting in line or riding up the lift. She learned intimate details of the lives of a couple of women in the brief moments they spent together. No doubt she spread words of encouragement all over the resort. One of her new friends even lives in our city. I grunted to one guy about how nice the weather is today.
While waiting in line at a sporting event, a large group of football player size guys were getting a bit rowdy and using more and more foul language. The F-word and using the Lord’s name in vain really irk her and these young men were rehearsing all their naughty words for all to hear. (She tells this story quite matter-of-factly). Not wanting the kids to hear this kind of talk, she decides to ask the oversize boys to quit that kind of talk. I would have gotten pulverized, had I the guts to try this. So she walks over to the group, looks up and smiles. Asks them to quit using such language around the little kids. That’s it: she just asks and flashes Jesus-face. They become quite apologetic and even appreciative that she said something to them. “Thank you ma’am. We are so sorry to have offended you.” Issue resolved and no feelings were hurt. No trouble at all for Jesus face.
The Jesus face has nothing to do with her physical beauty. I of course think she is the prettiest girl in the schoolyard, but I know that is not what the Jesus face is all about. And the fact that she doesn’t even know what the Jesus face is all about or even when it is happening is one of her most endearing qualities. Somehow she conveys to everyone she meets genuine caring, selflessness, openness, and a willingness to be real. How anyone could say all that with a simple look in the eyes is a mystery to me but I see it happen all the time. And I am envious of her.
And I never see her practice the look in the mirror. She never sets aside quiet time to try to improve her look. The Jesus face cannot be improved by working at it, in fact the opposite is true. The harder one works to appear Christlike, the more like themselves they become. No doubt you have seen telepreachers that try so sincerely to look pious that they become mockeries of their own efforts. How does one try to become like another without looking silly in the process? Think Michael Jackson.
Lest I step off a theological cliff at this point, let me just say this: Jesus face is not a self-motivated event. It just happens because she allows Someone greater than herself to take up permanent residence in her very own life. The privilege of wearing Him on one’s face is not earned by performing great and selfless deeds nor is it wages for a life of austerity. Being the perfect mom or wife has nothing to do with things like this. Flashing the Jesus face is the only possible reaction to allowing the creator of the universe to reside within one’s self. Seven layers of skin could hide who lives inside?
So what is my point in writing today? Not to brag. Not to say “Do this and you will be happy”. Not to try and convince you to believe any particular way. I suppose I devote this post to a woman who has realized that her joy in life comes not from her inherent goodness or in trying to become a better person or in being religious, for that matter. She know her value as one of God’s children and it has changed her life, moving her from self-focused to other-focused. Her joy reverberates into all who come close, as I imagine it did for all those who by chance met Jesus in the marketplace while He walked on earth. I picture those ancient people, shopping in the open air market, perhaps glancing into His eyes and receiving a sincere Jesus face smile in return. I imagine He was in no hurry to get home for supper, but rather was pleased to just visit with a stranger for a while. I am sure that the children all wanted to be hugged by him.
You know, I see lots of people, especially kids, wearing those WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets on their arms these days. And that is nice. It is nice to imagine what Jesus would do in any given situation and try to act like how I would guess the creator of the known universe would handle my little issue. Nice, but not life-changing. The real life-changing question is simply WHI (Who He Is). Not How Would Jesus Want Me To Behave? or How Can I Imitate Jesus? To adopt WHI as one’s life motto is to give Him permission to mold your heart into a shape that pleases him. My wife knows Who He Is and it shows. WHI informs who she is.
My wife is still the spunky, funny, fun, loudmouth, card cheating, organized, passionate, great Italian cook, christian person she was when we married two decades ago. But there is also that Jesus face. It shows up more and more regularly. Her family sees it the most, though I doubt the kids really understand nor appreciate it. We have a living mystery in our home. I stand in awe of a woman who would step away from herself and let Him live in her.
We are so blessed.
Tags: God's goodness, marriage
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