Our face is our logo.

You know what a logo is.  That mark that’s the visual symbol of a company or a cause.  There is a science behind logos and word types.  Shape and color can all subconsciously generate different feelings, e.g. a circle indicates  stability, a wordmark in a sans serif font implies tradition, the color red is powerful and aggressive.  But this is nothing compared to the experiences we have with that organization.  To me, a Nike swoosh means shoes that last.  AT&T’s white globe with blue lines is more than just the cell-phone provider, but also the company that employed my dad for many years.

Our faces are like that too.  We’ve probably all met people whose faces are, well, comfortably average.  Then we get to know them and their faces become beautifully dear to us because of what they represent — a good friend, a godly spouse, a cheerful neighbor.  Say the words “beautiful” and “brilliant” and I’ll think of the faces of my sisters.   Say the words “karate” and “boxing” and I’ll think of my brother.  Say the words “grumpy morning person” to them and they’ll think of me.  Not a pretty sight, honestly.

The word logo is a shortened form of the word “logogram” which is a sign or a character representing a word.  [I’m getting all this from the Online Etymology Dictionary…Google it.]  And that comes from the Greek “logos.”   Wait a second.  Who was known as the Logos?  All you good Bible people know the answer is either Moses, David, or Jesus.  And if you picked “C” you’re right!  Jesus is the Logos.  The Word of God.  And, the image of God!

In John 14, Jesus is talking to His disciples, as He was wont to do.  He says that there is no way to the Father but through Him [Jesus].  Because, He goes on, if you know me you’ve known the father.  Then Philip, who is one of those rarely mentioned disciples, spouts off here with, “Hey, this seeing God the Father thing sounds like something I could be satisfied with.”  (The Olive paraphrase version.)

Jesus very calmly and graciously answers…actually, no, I think he uses sarcasm.  “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?” [vs. 9]  Jesus goes on, and again I paraphrase.  “I’m the spitting image of Him!  If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen the other.”

Okay, I wasn’t planning to use this illustration, but it fits too perfectly.  In Keith Urban’s “Song for Dad,” about a man who realizes he’s getting more like his father every day, he sings, “When somebody says I hope I get to meet your dad, I just smile and say, ‘you already have.'”  Awww.  That just gets me every time.

In the passage above, Jesus wasn’t talking about looks, but about His nature and character.  If we know who Jesus is, we know the Father.  And if we get to know Jesus more and more, we too can begin to look like Him.  (I John 3:2)  Not only in our nature, in our character, but it will even come out in the joy and love on our  faces.  It’s like we can be a logo for the Logos!

Yep.  Mind officially blown.