Notes of Faith May 6, 2024
Complexion of Comfort
2 Cor 4:6
6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
When the sixteenth-century British poet and soldier Sir Philip Sidney died, his friend Matthew Roydon wrote a poem in his honor. He said that Sidney possessed: “A sweet attractive kind of grace; a full assurance given by looks; continual comfort in a face; the [complexion] of Gospel books.”1 In other words, the Gospel shone through Sidney’s face. Divine comfort was etched into his complexion. To look at him was to be reassured.
2 Cor 1:2-4
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
If the face of a mere mortal can express God’s grace, think of looking into the face of Christ Himself. Imagine being the blind man whose first sight was the smiling face of the Healer. Imagine Mary and Martha seeing our Lord’s concerned face in their grief. Imagine the disciples looking into the radiant face of our Lord as He ascended into heaven. Now imagine His face seeing you and your burdens today.
One day we’ll see Him face-to-face. Until then, we can still look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Continual comfort in a face! Is this not truer of the face of Jesus, who was marred more than any other man? His benign countenance, loving eyes, gracious presence, and heartfelt messages all exuded comfort.
Herbert Lockyer
1. Herbert Lockyer, All God’s Comfort (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2001), 5.
Many people spoke of my mother having some special earthly glory in her face that was a reflection of the glory of God. I believe that we are promised this as believers and followers of Christ, that God is making us like Jesus, to reflect His glory, that the people of earth may know the glory of God! May we all seek His holiness, and live a life of love as He did.
Pastor Dale