Behold, and See

“... behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow....” Lamentations 1:12 (KJV)

One of my favorite contemplative carols is Handel’s beautiful and haunting “Behold and See” from his masterpiece, Messiah. As I listened recently, I was struck by the necessary relationship of these two simple words: behold and see.

What I realized is that it is not possible to truly “see” something until we are willing to “behold” it. Perhaps this is why there are benches in art museums. One can sit for hours and behold a painting. And while many might think that to be no more stimulating than watching paint dry, we know that the longer one “beholds” an image, the more they see within it.

It is only as we behold something that we begin to notice the details, nuances, and intentionality of the artist that we never perceived upon initial glance. It takes beholding, observing, contemplating—sitting still and taking in the masterpiece before us—that we are able to truly see and appreciate the totality of what is there. And as we do this, after time, the painting becomes interesting and familiar; we come to really know it and readily recognize it wherever we see it. Ultimately, it becomes meaningful and special to us in ways that would have never been possible had we just walked by with a momentary glimpse.

So it is, I am learning, with Christ. The more we take the time to behold Him, to sit in His presence in stillness and silence, to ponder Him in our thoughts, to keep our gaze upon Him, the more we notice about Him; the more we see and understand elements of His nature that we never knew before. And the more familiar He becomes, the more we really know Him and readily recognize Him. Ultimately, the more meaningful and special He becomes to us.

Handel’s lyric specifically references Lamentations 1:12 which is considered a foreshadowing of Christ on the Cross. This is an invitation to more deeply comprehend the love of Christ for us through His willingness to die a criminal’s death for our salvation, and yet there is also much to be gained as we behold Him always—from the manger, throughout His earthly life, His death, and His resurrection. Beholding Christ is inexhaustible, and we are invited to live lives that behold Him every day.

I believe we are changed—continuously formed into something more and better—as we live our lives beholding Christ, for it is through beholding Him that we come to truly See.

~em

Photo credit: Ricardo Gomez on Unsplash