Radiance

Scripture:

• Ps 34:4-5 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
• Acts 6:15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

I had the opportunity to officiate a wedding this past weekend. It was a beautiful event with an amazing young couple that have dedicated their lives to follow after the Lord’s calling in their lives. During pre-maritial sessions, I often ask the engaged couple if they have a passage of Scripture they would like me to use in their wedding ceremony. I was surprised by this couples selection; Psalms 34, not a typical wedding passage. When I asked why, they said, “we want to glorify the Lord together; we want to look to him, that our faces to be radiant because we have given Him praise.” 

As I dug into this psalm, I was reminded that this was the psalm that the “soon to be” king David wrote while he was fleeing king Saul. Saul wanted to kill David and his followers and wipe out any threat to his leadership. David finds himself in the cave, fearing for his life and the lives of his friends. It is here that David, most likely looking into the faces of his friends, wrote this psalm about radiant faces.

Stephen, like David, was also facing those who would take his life. In Acts 6, those that were watching Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit during his defense of his faith, said his face had the radiance of an angel.

The question that always captures my thoughts when I read passages about faces that radiate God’s glory is one that I’ll propose to you. What does your face reflect? As followers of Christ, do we shine His glory during difficult moments in life? Is there a touch of Heaven upon our lives that causes the people around us to see heaven shine through our lives? People notice faces that shine. The radiance only comes from those that have been with God.

Whatever circumstance you find yourself in today, may the glory of the Lord fall on you so that your face reflects Jesus to a world that needs to see His glory fill His people!

David