The task before us that afternoon was simple enough. The newly remodeled church lounge had a wall which needed a picture; everyone agreed it should be a portrait of Christ. The question was - what should Jesus look like? Five hundred years before Christ's birth, Isaiah had predicted he would have "no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him." Except for the unnerving remark, the Bible never mentions Jesus' appearance. So, which of the scores of paintings available should we choose?

Everyone had a favorite. The youth representative to the committee had torn from a catalog a picture of a laughing Jesus. "It's a fresh look," he said. "It makes Jesus the kind of person it would be fun to know." An elderly housewife held up a copy of Sallman's famo…