Behold Him

‘Behold the Lamb of God’. John the Baptiser pointed to Jesus and uttered these words to his disciples (John 1:35).

‘Behold Him’.

What did he mean?

‘There he is’?

‘Look - that’s the Lamb of God’?

‘Have a quick look over there’?

Or did he mean something that was so much more than a mere glance; an awareness; a quick look at someone?

To behold is to take in, to study, to notice. To lay aside all distraction and thoughts in order to drink something in its fullness.

To behold the sunset as it floods the sky with scarlet, rose and coral.

To behold a newborn baby as he sleeps, hands curled tightly, top lip sucking gently, eyelids creased shut.

To behold your spouse as you realise this is the person who loves you and has committed their life to you.

To behold the Lamb? This is to look upon Him with eyes only for Him. To leave behind your present circumstances for a moment; to switch off your phone and switch off your wandering mind and gaze at Him in awe with undivided attention. To look upon His beauty and drink in His love for you.

Maybe you’re a busy mama with a long list of unfinished goals for the day, children with different needs and a home to run.

Or perhaps you’re a working woman with a fast-paced job, a busy calendar, and responsibilities inside and outside the home.

Whatever our circumstances, how can we find ways to behold Him?

On a practical level, it might require making intentional decisions to carve out time in your hectic day. You might need to put your kids to bed 15 minutes earlier or go to bed 15 minutes later. You might need to schedule a block of time with the Lord where your phone will be switched off and to-do lists pushed to one side. Perhaps reviewing your attitude towards a weekly Sabbath or learning to snatch moments of calm in the day such as babies’ nap times or lunch breaks.

Each of our individual circumstances will be different and so what is important is intentionally sitting down to consider how we can make time for Him.

But if we’re really honest, more often than not, it isn’t that we can’t practically find a way to behold Him. It’s that our hearts aren’t truly seeking Him.

If you're anything like me, even in the moments that I’ve set aside to be with the Lord, I can find my mind wandering back onto my unfinished task list, worrying about situations in the future or accidentally scrolling on my phone after picking it up to listen to worship music.

As is so often the case, I’m challenged again by the examples of Mary and Martha. Two sisters with similar circumstances but very different heart postures.

Martha - hurried, bothered, anxiously focusing on her to-do list and mentally calculating how she can possibly fit in all the tasks that need to be completed for things to be just right for Jesus (or perhaps how things will look to those who visit her home).

Her sister Mary - hungrily sitting at her Master’s feet, hanging on His every word and delighting in every minute spent with Him.

Sadly it’s not difficult for me to identify which sister most typically reflects the posture of my heart.

So what was Mary’s secret? Was it that she didn’t have as much to do as her sister? Or perhaps her standards were lower?

Of course we can’t know for certain what her exact circumstances and responsibilities were. What we do know though, is Jesus’ response to her act of beholding Him.

‘Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken from her’ (Luke 10:41-42).

Martha’s acts of diligence, service, care for the things of this world - however you want to put it - would eventually (very quickly) be forgotten. A clean house is messed up almost instantly (!), a lovingly prepared meal is gone no sooner that it is plated up, a stressful day at work is soon forgotten.

But a moment of beholding Jesus? That will not be taken from us.

In fact, whilst that precious moment may be fleeting in the here and now, one day we will behold Him for all eternity. Our hearts will be full of worship and adoration and our every moment will be spent in humble worship of our precious Saviour: the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

For now we are limited. We cannot necessarily spend every moment of every day looking upon Him and worshipping Him with undivided attention (although we are called to pray without ceasing and we can certainly grow in our ability to seek Him in every moment of the day).

However, in the busyness of our lives, with all the tasks and responsibilities that we do have, we can choose to be like Mary. We can choose to stop and lay these aside.

We can choose to look upon the Lamb that was slain and behold someone so much more worthy and beautiful than anything this world could offer us.

We can choose that good part that will not be taken from us.

We can choose to behold HIm.

And as we do? We will wonder why we would ever do anything else.