In unison, we join with the psalmist when he declared his desire to praise our majestic Creator as we acknowledge we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). God made us so as to have emotions and then, through non-verbal communication, express these through a variety of facial expressions which are created by involuntary muscle movements, or muscle positions in the skin. At times we communicate positive messages; sometimes quite the opposite. A smile, for instance, can show approval; it also can indicate a sense of well-being and inner joy. It is easily distinguished from an angry look...a snarl or scowl. A number of emotional expressions enable us to “talk” to a foreign citizen without speaking a word.
When God commissioned Jeremiah and prepared him for his prophetic office, He anticipated the difficult challenges Jeremiah would face in discharging his responsibility to faithfully declare God’s message to a wayward people. God comforted the young man when He said, “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:8). God knew beforehand what Jeremiah would be up against sometimes while preaching. Hard looks. Consternation. Hatred.
Just as verbal communication proceeds from the heart (Matthew 15:18-19), so does the non-verbal. Facial expressions convey so much to others. What is the nature of the messages we are sending to others within the body of Christ during the week, and during times of meeting in the assembly? Do we convey that we are happy to be here, and that really there is no place we’d rather be? Do we express a heart of warmth and good-will toward all who have assembled together before God? May we keep our hearts and minds in check before Him.
- Tim Childs preaches for the Hillcrest Church of Christ in Baldwyn, MS. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.thelordsway.com/hillcrestms
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