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Upside Down

by David Litwin

I have often heard, especially during moments of corporate prayer, a petition similar to the following: “Lord, show us more of your face.” It is a prayer of longing; a longing for deeper connection with the Father. The biblical David prayed (or sung, depending on how you look at it): “And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.” (Psalm 17:5 NIV) It is not uncommon that one of your Sunday morning worship songs might focus on the desire to gaze deeper on the beauty of the Lord. We cry out for exponential intimacy with our transcendent God. And though this is critical, what if our prayers might be a little upside down? What if we aren’t just supposed to be focussed on the transcendent, but in seeing the transcendent manifested in the everyday?

What if instead of saying, ‘Lord reveal more of yourself to me,’ we say ‘Lord reveal more of yourself to me through people?’ I want to see more of the face of God, so I’ll do it through encouraging people to be more like Christ, and in turn see Him through them. How does that change the way we order our steps? How does that change the way we value relationships? If my focus is on knowing God deeper through people, then I must invest my time in people. I cannot use people, for I will never see God through their lives if I do. I cannot demean people, for I will sabotage my own intimacy with the Father. I cannot segment or compartmentalize people, because I might miss a piece of what the beautiful Christ looks like.

But if my focus is my own personal Jesus, then I can demean, I can use, I can segment or compartmentalize. Because hey, it’s just me and Jesus. And if I act in such a manner, is it not a little arrogant to believe that Jesus desires relationship with such a backstabbing, one-sided and even bigoted individual? Jesus said of those that behaved in such a manner: “You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25) Remember, the paragon of religious virtue among the religious set Jesus specifically addressed in this verse was the high priest. Among other duties, the high priest was given the high honor of spending one day of the year gazing into the face of God in the temple room called the Holy of Holies. This was the benchmark of righteousness to the religious. The coveted position all below him aspired to achieve. And yet it appears that Christ was saying ‘I wanted you to find me in everything you did, to desire to see me in everyone around you.’ As God said, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’

And so at the death of Christ, and the fulfillment of the sacrifice, the veil in that room was torn.

So why do we, in our prayer closets or other sacred spaces, often attempt to put it back up? Don’t get me wrong; it is not that yearning for intimately seeking face of God should not be our soul cry. David himself said, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4 NIV) It was his one desire. The desire of the man after God’s own heart. But what if our desire is to enlarge the parameters of the House? What if we switch the definition of the temple from a building—to people? What if the house of the Lord expanded to an entire neighborhood? A city? A country? Could we dream that big? What if God’s Kingdom could come to the whole earth, as it is in Heaven? What if that is accomplished by transforming earth into heaven through actions, instead of strictly attempting to bring heaven down through prayer.

I want to continually dwell in the house of the Lord… I just want to see the walls expanded a bit. I want to perpetually gaze on the beauty of the Lord… I just want to do it everywhere I turn my face. And I want people to gaze on the beauty of the Lord reflected through my face, but even more importantly through my actions. I want to live the Kingdom and teach all others to do so, and then maybe it’ll come down in my lifetime. I want to… well, I’ll let Jack Johnson finish my thoughts for me:

“I want to turn the whole thing upside down, I’ll find the things they say just can’t be found. I’ll share this love I find with everyone…” (Jack Johnson, Upside Down)

yeah, I want that.

So do you think I'm wrong?
When it comes down to it, I am desperate for Jesus. Like really really run-through-a-minefield to get to him Desperate. If I can't see him I'll just DIE. And if I'm really honest to you (And since this is online I CAN be), at that point, everyone else just fades away and I am a starving thirsty man who needs water. I don't want to see Him in others. I want to see Him period. I want Him to fill my vision. I dont care what bomb drops next to me when He does. It's the ONLY way to live. I will cling through fire and rocks and mobs, to his back and neck and will not think twice about it. Once I reach Him just to hold on and not let go. It won't matter what I lose. Do you think I'm wrong?

And just to be able to sit with Him as along as I want, and not feel the pressure that "It's all on me". To know a friend of mine is depressed and someone else could have someone (Or someTHING) attempting their life, and to be free not to care. To be free to know Jesus isn't putting that on me. To know He's got it. To know I can rest there, and I dont have to move. Ever. To drink deep. And every movement I make out of that "Prayer closet" is a dance in His presence. Where I can dance in the darkest places because it doesnt matter and I am the luckiest guy in the world because I have the surpassing riches of HIM really HIM. And no matter where I go, things I lose, wealth I gain, my unrelenting DEMAND of my heart which will not stop saying "Give!" until he agrees, remains "Show me your face!" "What does Jasper and Sardius look like looking at me?" My joy is still in the same thing, and my cry never stops being completely filled by that one thing.

I admit. I'm weak. The minute He won't draw near to me like THAT in that way is the minute I can't do a thing. Is it wrong do you think, that in those riches of His presence, I can yearn for nothing else?
by S.J. on Thu August 07, 2008, 16:40:14
Posts: 1
Seeing God
This is interesting. We have often heard how we can see God in nature and in people, but not how we can see even more of God by encouraging people to be like Him. That's really good.

My wife told me just yesterday of seeing the humor of God in His creation when she saw a finch feeding on the red flower of a saguaro cactus. The funny thing was that this bird had a red colored head that made it look like it permanently fed on this red flower!

We can see the hand of God everywhere. We can see His face in those we meet - even in the darkest of places. But how about seeing His smile as people worship Him? How about seeing His joy as people extend His love to the hurting? How about seeing His grace as people mend the broken hearted?

At any moment in time we are not only the actors in God's fantastically woven story, we are also privileged to be spectators, where we can take moments to appreciate what God is doing all around us, and then step back in and play a part in helping the other characters in this story contribute to what God is doing and saying.

I have always found a great pleasure to stop at times and just watch people as God must see them - not as flawed creatures, but as those He dearly loves. The greatest pleasures for me are when I see faces lit up in simple love for Him, or alive with faith and expectancy of what He is doing, or moved in love for others.

To see that is to see what God delights to see. To see that is to sense His pleasure. And in sensing this, we see and know God more than ever.

And now to think about encouraging people to play the roles God has reserved for them and to help them become more like Him should only warm our hearts all the more. :)
Posts: 1

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About David Litwin

David Litwin

David Litwin founded and currently acts as CEO of Pure Fusion Media, a strategic branding agency in Nashville, TN. Working in the industry for over 18 years, David’s past clients include Fortune 500 corporations as recognizable as IBM, Hewlett Packard, Sony and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. David’s passion is to see the business and cultural landscape radically impacted by dynamic, well skilled and highly creative Christian leaders. He is currently in the process of writing books on the subject of culture, media and the Biblical Worldview as well as having cofounded the critical thinking leadership group, The Daniel Project. David is also developing a media and culture center in Nashville, providing revolutionary new resources and strategies in the arenas of television, music, advertising, design, and film. David and his wife Cindy live in Franklin, TN with their two beautiful daughters.

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