Radiating With Joy

As I was searching for the perfect verse for a friend today I decided to see what it said in different translations.  The verse was Numbers 6:24-26... "May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."  This translation is from the NIV which is what most of us know.  As I was searching the other translations I found the one that was perfect for her.  It is from the Living Bible translation which says... "May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of You; may He be gracious to you, show you His favor, and give you His peace."

What caught my attention was "may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of You".  How awesome is it to think of the Lord's face radiating because of You!  But to read that verse causes some soul searching.  Do my actions, do my words, does my life cause the Lord's face to radiate with joy?  It's easy to get caught up in the world around you and to forget what, better yet who, you are really living for.

This time of year it's a little easier to be more Christlike because the world is generally more Christlike.  Around Thanksgiving and Christmas it seems like most everyone is, for the most part, more kind, more compassionate, more caring, more giving, the list goes on and on. But what about when the holidays are over.  Some may even say that during this time of the year it's not as noticeable who is living for the world and who is living for Christ.  But what happens after the holidays?  What happens when the world goes back to living like the world?  Will our life look any different than the world?  Or will our life cause "the Lord's face to radiate with joy because of us"?

"To radiate with joy because of you" makes me think of my granddaughter.  Just being around her makes me happy, joyful, excited, giddy, it just makes me overwhelmed with a love I cannot describe.  I've even had people tell me, "you can just see the love and pure joy radiating from your face".  That's how I want my actions to make God feel.  I want Him to be filled with love and joy being around me so much so that "His face radiates with joy because of Me!"

I wonder what the world would look like if we all lived our lives in a way that "made the Lord's face radiate with joy because of us".  My guess is the "world" would look a whole lot more like "Him"!

May the Lord's joy radiate through you and may His face radiate with joy because of you!

Blessings!