Description

“May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” Many of us have received this blessing countless times, yet how often do we pause and consider the true depth behind these words? What exactly does it mean for God to shine His face on us, especially in an age when so many believers feel disillusioned in their faith, struggling to reframe both their relationship with the church and their experiences with God?

Beneath this well-known blessing lies a deeper personal struggle—one we often fail to acknowledge or even confront: the struggle for personal identity, a rediscovery of who we truly are and the reclaiming of our own stories. In her book, Saving Face, Aimee Byrd finds the perfect metaphor for this spiritual journey in the concept of finding one’s own face. Through elegant and deeply meaningful reflections, Byrd explores how the modern church has inadvertently become “defaced,” marked by spiritual abuses, a diminished sense of wonder and imagination, and a troubling gap between words spoken and actions taken.

Known for previously raising challenging questions in Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Byrd courageously takes her reflections further here. She boldly wonders if perhaps today’s crises within the church aren’t merely about having the correct doctrine, but rather result from something far more profound. Could it be that instead of constantly pointing our fingers outward toward others we deem “wrong,” we need to turn inward and examine our own reflections? What if the face we need to find first is ours, as we recognize Christ’s presence within ourselves as well as within our neighbor?

With creativity and deep insight, Byrd weaves together a beautiful tapestry of personal narratives, heartfelt memories, journal entries, and Scripture meditations centered around the theme of the divine face. In doing so, she invites the church to gaze again upon the face of Christ and to recover the lost treasures of beauty, contemplation, and authentic, meaningful relationship.