It Starts with a Stare

The intensity of his stare.

Every time I think of this moment, that is what comes to mind. His skill with the scissors was apparent. He deftly made minute cut after minute cut, carefully rotating the paper in his hands. When he was finished, the street artist handed us a perfect silhouette of my little girl. We thanked him and headed on our way to the next wonder of our whirlwind tour around the world according to Epcot.

Yet, something sticks with me from this moment. Here sits a young man from France, who has been brought from Disney to work as part of their immersive experience. He has been given the job of creating handcut silhouttes of tourists. Was he some kind of artist before taking this job? Is there a special Disney school for Epcot street artists? Was this his first day on the job? Is he actually a fill in for some cast member that just happened to be on lunchbreak when our wandered into his space of sidewalk?

I do not know. But, I do know that in that moment, the only thing that mattered in his mind was cutting the perfect replica of my two year old who was trying, and failing, to sit perfectly still.

I can honestly say, I have had that girl in the room with surgeons and oncologists that never looked at her any more intently than he did.

Why? Because, he was trying to duplicate her.

As Christians, we are the ones who are supposed to be “like Christ.” Our daily call is to be more like Him.

But, somehow, we expect to duplicate Christ without staring at His character in His Word, spending time in His presence, or even meditating on just who He is. We go about cutting the shape of our life with little time to stop and look at the one we are supposed to be modeling. Then we stand shocked when our profile looks nothing at all like His.

Friend, let me share a lesson I learned at Epcot.

A good copy starts with a strong Stare.

As you shape your life in His name, just how much time are you spending seeking His face?