Throughout my life I have been fascinated with the American Civil War. I read all the books, watched all the documentaries, and took all the classes. But none of that could compare with what I was able to experience during a trip my wife and I took to the east coast. On our way we stopped at the Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields, two of the most well-known and gruesome battles in U.S. history. In the combined four days of fighting during these two battles there were more than 70,000 casualties. When we stepped on to those hallowed fields there was this eerie blend of beauty and horror. These beautiful hills and farmlands that were turned into killing fields. It was one thing to read about these events and another to walk on the very grounds where all this destruction took place.
Having the opportunity to see these battlefields will forever transform the way I think about this conflict and the people that were involved. There is something transformational about beholding with one’s own eyes the elements of stories you have heard for years. I have never been to Israel or other places in the Middle East where the stories of Scripture took place, but many friends who have visited mentioned how it transformed the way they read Scripture and think of the characters who inhabited those places over two thousand years ago. I am not suggesting that everyone head to the Holy Land but I do challenge us toward transformational beholding.
From one Degree of Glory to Another
Until I was able to see those battlefields in person, the story of those battles had an almost mythic feel to them. Once I was able to stand where those men stood and see where so many fell, however, it felt so much more real to me. I think this is the way I am tempted to feel toward God and his word. Until I see it, touch it, and hear it, I am tempted to read these passages the same way I might read an ancient Greek myth. Like the disciple Thomas, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25). So how can I encounter God’s word and his presence when I can’t readily visit those locations or ever talk with those who were present at these moments? How can I be transformed by God when I cannot physically behold him?
In 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul writes:
We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the
Lord who is the Spirit.
What does it mean to look at (or behold) the glory of the Lord as in a mirror? The context of this passage is the apostle Paul reflecting on the prophet Moses meeting with God on Mount Sinai after which Moses’ face reflected the glory of God. This passage is not talking about our outward appearance being transformed, but our hearts and minds being transformed by the Holy Spirit as we behold the glory of the Father in the Son. One day we will behold him face to face as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12:
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I
know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.
Until that day we can see him indirectly, but how? And what is the impact of beholding the glory of God?
Come and Behold Him
The first thing to behold his glory, is to behold his people. As the Spirit of Christ dwells in his people we begin to take on his traits. We reflect him as we share our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As God transforms his people they don’t become deified but they reflect deity. In my life there have been several individuals who have spent their life beholding the glory of God which in turn transformed them from one degree of glory to another. Do you have such people in your life? Could people say that of us? Behold the Son as you behold his people. Reflect the Son as you behold the Son.
Secondly, we must develop a quiet, listening heart. Christ said that “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). In a world of constant movement and noise, do we recognize the voice of our Shepherd? A recent practice suggested to me was the slow praying of Scripture word by word. For example, in Psalm 46:10 we are told to “be still and know that I am God.” Take the time to reflect and respond on the word “God” then the words “I am” and so on and so forth. I have found this practice helpful in slowing down to take time to behold the character of God as revealed in Scripture. Behold the Son as you behold his word.
FInally, take time to behold and reflect on his glory in creation. Do you ever just take the time to sit and ponder God’s glory and wisdom as you look out over a field or lake? There was once a man who realized he had started to take his surroundings for granted and so in order to help him notice the familiar, he would sit and paint his own backyard. This practice helped him notice what had always been there, but with greater appreciation. Let us seek to be disciplined about noticing the glory around us and if possible, going to places of beauty. Find those “thin places” where heaven and earth seem to meet. Behold the Son as you behold his creation.
The Weight of Glory
Gettysburg and Antietam left me feeling heavy. My wife and I beheld God’s glory on the naturally beautiful battlefields. There was so much green and life! Yet at the same time we were reminded of the fact that God’s image-bearers gathered on these fields for the purpose of taking life. The awe we felt was a mixture of our response to God’s wisdom and beauty as well as our response to the devastation of war and sin. In this fallen world, our beholding is often a mixture of awe and heartache. But as we behold our surroundings with the consideration of God’s presence and kindness, I believe our beholding can be truly transformative.
As we behold God in his people, as we respond to his word in prayer, and as we marvel at his beauty, wisdom, and creation, I pray that each of us would be transformed from one degree of glory to another. I pray it would soften our hearts toward the story we are a part of. The God we worship is not distant or the result of some mythic story, he is the author and perfecter of our story. O come let us behold and adore him.
