From Max Lucado and his book “Just Like Jesus”:
Let me urge you to come to worship prepared to worship. Pray before you come so that you will be ready to pray when you arrive. Sleep before you come so you will stay alert when you arrive. Read the word before you come so your heart will be soft when you worship. Come hungry. Come willing. Come expecting God to speak. Come asking, even as you walk through the door. . .
As you do, you’ll discover the purpose of worship—to change the face of the worshiper. That is exactly what happened to Christ on the mountain. Jesus’ appearance was changed: His face became bright like the sun: (Matt. 17:2).
The connection between the face and worship is more that coincidental. Our face is the most public part of our bodies, covering less than any other area. It is also the most recognizable part of our bodies. We don’t fill a school annual with photos of people’s feet but rather with photos of faces. God desires to take our faces, this exposed and memorable part of our bodies and use them to reflect his goodness. Paul writes: our faces, then, are not covered. We all show God’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18).
God invites us to see his face so that he can change ours. He uses our uncovered faces to display his glory. The transformation isn’t easy. The sculptor of Mount Rushmore faced a lesser challenge than does God. But our Lord is up to the task. He loves to change the faces of his children. By his fingers, wrinkles of worry are rubbed away. Shadows of shame and doubt become portraits of grace and trust. He relaxes clenched jaws and smoothes furrowed brows. His trust can remove the bags of exhaustion beneath and tears of despair into tears of peace. How? Through worship.
We’d expect something more complicated, more demanding. A forty-five day fast or the memorization of Leviticus perhaps. No. God’s plan is simpler. He changes our faces through worship.
Exactly what is worship? I like King David’s definition, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Ps. 34:3 NASB). Worship is the act of magnifying God. Enlarging our vision of him. Stepping into the cockpit to see where he sits and observe how he works. Of course, the size doesn’t change, but our perception of him does. As we draw nearer, he seems larger. Isn’t that what we need? A big view of God. Don’t we have big problems, big worries, and big questions? Of course we do. Hence we need a big view of God.
Worship offers that. How can we sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy” and not have our vision expanded? Or what about the lines from “It Is Well With My Soul”?. . . . “My sin—-Oh the bliss of this glorious thought, My sin—-not in part but in whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul! . . . . Can we sing those words and not have our countenance illuminated?
A vibrant, shining face is the mark of one who has stood in God’s presence. After speaking to God, Moses had to cover his face with a veil (Exod. 34:33-35). After seeing heaven, Stephen’s face glowed like an angel (Acts 6:15; 7:55-56).
God is in the business of changing the face of the world.
Let me be very clear. The change is his job, not ours. Our goal is not to make our faces radiant. Not even Jesus did that. Matthew says, “Jesus’ appearance was changed” not Jesus changed his appearance.” Moses didn’t even know his face was shining (Exod. 34:29). Our goal is not to conjure up some fake, frozen expression. Our goal is simply to stand before God with a prepared and willing heart and then let God do his work.
And he does. He wipes away the tears. He mops away the perspiration. He softens our furrowed brows. He touches our cheeks. He changes our faces as we worship.
But there’s more. Not only does God change the face of those who worship, he changes those who watch us worship.~~~ Max Lucado, Just Like Jesus (Nashville: World Publishing, 1998), p. 81-83
