allen Levi - singer songwriter

Faces of Easter

In April, I participated in a fundraising event for Easter Seals in Columbus, Georgia. Though I don’t know a lot about the organization, I do know that its focus is the care and rehabilitation of the physically and mentally disabled. The director in Columbus is Sharon Borger, a Christian who expresses her love for Christ in the work she does at Easter Seals.

On the day I was to sing at the fundraiser, which fell during the week before Easter, I watched a slide show which was to run while I sang. The images there of grins, eyes, and faces of kids inspired this song. I was surrounded by Easter lilies as I sang the song, hence the reference to lilies in the last verse.

This is one of those songs, of which I would imagine I’ve done hundreds or more, which is written for one very specific occasion. They get sung one time and usually forgotten. I recorded this for Mrs. Borger and her staff, and thought you might enjoy hearing it. While it addresses a particular organization, it speaks, in a broader sense, about any exercise of compassion that we might involve ourselves in.

Is it not one of the profound privileges of Christ’s followers to be His face, His hands, His heart to the world? While every attempt to fill those roles, even on our best days, will meet with woeful imperfection, we are still image bearers. And there is even the prospect that He will someday say "well done."

Faces of Easter

This is the playground and these are the kids,

They are different and precious and rare,

This is their laughter and these are their eyes,

Looking up now for someone to care,

Theirs are the faces that make us look down

Faces as tender and deep as the dove,

We are the faces of Easter to them,

We are the faces of Love.

These common expressions, these uncommon kids,

Just look at the way that they grin,

Sensing, i’m sure, they are wanted and loved,

Knowing they’re safe here with friends,

These little hands cannot reach up to us,

But we can reach down from above,

We are the faces of Easter to them,

We are the faces of Love.

These are the ones we could choose to ignore,

But Easter will not let it be,

"whatever you do to the least," He has said,

"this you have done unto Me."

Consider the lilies that grow in the field,

The wind leaves them broken and bruised,

But these we can harbor and hide from the storm,

If we’ll just do the work we should do,

Easter time teaches abundantly clear,

That love means to suffer and give,

We are the faces of Easter to them,

We are the faces of Love.