Proverbs 27:19 – As in water the face is reflected as a face, so a person's heart reflects the person. (NET)

As I was meditating on this Scripture, I began to think that a face seen in a mirror can be changed through plastic surgery. Many people are willing to pay a great deal of money so that their faces no longer show wrinkles, saggy skin, blemishes, sunken eyes, drooping lips, a nose that's too big, and so on. Some people may even want to add dimples, tattooed eyebrows, and who knows what! Plastic surgeons will use their skills to make patients' faces more in line with what the patients consider to be beautiful. Even after extensive surgeries, however, many people are still not satisfied with the results.

Today's verse, however, isn't talking just about physical appearance. Our face, our attitude about life, our viewpoint about living, come from what exists in our heart. Here, our heart is not the muscle that pumps blood; it is what makes our inner self tick: the desires, dreams, aspirations, goals, wants, and wishes that give our life meaning. Sometimes, people frown all day long. They are angry with everything and everybody. They complain about how life isn't fair, exclaiming that they have been cheated by life because they don't have money, good health, a family, love, understanding, or acceptance, among other things. Others may smile outwardly, but in their hearts, they are backstabbers. They secretly wish that other people would never find joy or contentment, because that think, "If I'm not happy, then neither should anyone else be. They don't deserve a better life than mine."

There is hope for heart transformation, however, through the healing power of God's forgiveness. Unlike a plastic surgeon, He doesn't just make an outward transformation. The Lord goes further and implants a new heart.

Ezekiel 36:26 – I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. (NET)

He removes the ugliness of sin and replaces it with the beauty of forgiveness. Our faces no longer reflect the confusion of sin, but now show the beauty of the love that God pours into our hearts through His salvation. Once our hearts have been transformed, let's allow God to change our faces to reflect the image of Jesus Christ!

Prayer: Lord, help us not to evaluate ourselves by what the world views as beauty. Help us to allow You to change our hearts — attitudes, viewpoints, desires, dreams, and wishes — to reflect Your image so that when people look at us, they see You, Jesus. Amen.