Joy, Church, and the Neglected Face of God - An 11-Day PlanSample

Some versions of the Bible alter the image of God’s face shining on us, presenting a more generic concept of God’s presence and favor. Translators may do this to make the text more readable, but an important bodily sensation is lost. “The light of God’s presence” does not feel the same in our bodies as “the light of God’s face.” God designed facial recognition circuitry into our brains and linked it to our joy center. My wife’s face lights up when she sees me, and this initiates a joyful chain reaction in my brain that I can feel in my body. 

Brain science reveals that this joy sensation is crucial for emotional and relational development. Our brain looks specifically to the face of another person to find joy, and this fills up our emotional gas tank. The face is key. When a Bible translation erases the picture of God’s face, our brains do not react as strongly. A right-brain dominant relational sensation (joy—God’s face shining on us) is replaced with a less corporeal statement of fact (God is present with us). They both are important aspects of God’s love for us, but they are not the same.

This may seem like nitpicking, but there is a difference in the way our bodies respond. God designed our brains to seek joy through eyes and facial expressions, through being with people who are glad to be with us. When I compared the many Scriptures that describe God’s face shining on us with what I now know about how our brains were designed, I came to three important points of convergence: (1) Joy is primarily transmitted through the face (especially the eyes) and secondarily through voice. (2) Joy is relational. It is what we feel when we are with someone who is happy to be with us. Joy does not exist outside of a relationship. (3) Joy is important to God and to us.

Reading through the Bible and replacing “joy” with the concept of God’s face lighting up gives us a better idea of what joy means and how it feels in our bodies. For example, if we rewrite Psalm 16:11 using the fuller definition of joy, “In Your presence is fullness of joy” becomes “When Your face lights up because You are so happy to be with me, You fill me up with joy!” In John 15, Jesus talks about how He loves His disciples with the same love that the Father has for Him. Then He says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (v. 11). If we replace “joy” with the fuller definition, Jesus’ statement would be, “My Father’s face lights up when He sees Me because I’m so special to Him. I’m telling you this so that you will feel how special you are to my Father and to Me. Our faces are shining on you with delight.” I can feel that in my body when I picture it. Can you?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. When the Bible talks about God’s face shining on us, what image comes to your mind?

2. Have you felt your face shining on another person? Can you imagine God feeling the same when He looks at you?