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Did you know drawing faces is hard? One might think it’s easy. All you have to do is draw a circle for the head, maybe some for the eyes, and a line for the mouth and you’re set. But this is not the case if you are an art major or, in my case, a minor. When drawing a portrait, you now have the job of exactly replicating the face you are looking at. Right down to the crinkle lines at the corners of the eyes.
In my drawing class, we are currently drawing portraits. I decided to draw a portrait of my dad holding his second granddaughter in the hospital. He looked as happy as could be, which for him that meant a tight-lipped smile. For my dad, if the corners of his mouth move half a centimeter upward, he’s ecstatic.
In class, I had been working on this portrait for over an hour. My eyes were becoming strained as I erased and redrew my dad’s eyes at least ten times. I couldn’t get that balance of ‘happy and content with life’ to appear in his eyes. After a few more minutes of erasing and redrawing I gave up. “That’s it. I need a walk,” I said to no one in particular, and walked out of the classroom.
I walked to the women’s restroom. I stopped and rubbed my eyes. When I looked up at the mirror, something about me looked different. I paused and then smiled. Then I saw it. My smile looked just like my dad’s—more importantly—my eyes looked just like his. They held the same content and happy expression. Though not as dark brown as his, they were close to it. They even matched right down to the crinkle lines at the corners of the eyes. I smiled. It was like I had seen a completely different side of myself for the first time. I walked back to my seat and began drawing again. Now, it came much easier. I realized that, when drawing my dad’s eyes, I was drawing a part of myself.
How much more should our faces resemble Christ?
When I look into a mirror, should I not see my Heavenly Father as well as my earthly father? I love when people look at me and say “Wow, you look just like your Mom (or Dad).” It gives me a sense of belonging, as if I am their pride and joy—carrying their torch. I want the same sentence to be said about my heavenly Father. When I walk into a room I want people to look at me and say, “Wow, I see Christ in you.” I want to live my life in a such a way, that people come to me and ask what’s different about me.
Is it easy to live that way? No, not at all. In fact, it’s probably one of the hardest things to do, because living like Christ goes against every aspect of our human nature. We are sinful people who have been loved and bought by a perfect God.
As Christians, I think we often forget why we do what we do. We’re not Christians because it makes it makes us feel good or it makes life easier. On the contrary, I think Christians find that life may even be harder at times. Rather, the job of a Christian is to imitate Christ that others might see Him through us. Why? Because we have a hope within us that is far greater than what this world could offer. And in a world where there’s little to no light, the greatest need people have is that little spark of hope.
