Behold! Everything Stinks!
We are beholden to what we behold
Where does your attention go when you have a moment to spare? While standing in line, or just before falling asleep?
Mine often lands on just how bad everything is.
“Behold!” a little voice in my head says, “Look at your pitiful checking account balance!” Or “Behold! How outrageous those people’s political opinions are!” Or “Behold! All the terrible news headlines!”
And, truth be told, this little voice has a point. The world does stink. There’s no end to the bad news and suffering clamoring for our attention. Especially the bad news and suffering that directly affects our lives, and those we love.
There is a deep spiritual truth here: we are beholden to what we behold.
We are beholden to what we behold.
There’s a strange story in the Old Testament where God sends poisonous snakes into the Israelites’ camp because of their unfaithfulness. Despite having just seen God’s miraculous power they became impatient and afraid while in the wilderness:
“Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness?” they complained, “There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” (Numbers 21:5).
Their attention was stolen by the difficulties of living in the wilderness. And so God sent poisonous snakes to bite them… and many of them died.
It’s not an easy story to hear. It reminds me that my doubt and fear is sin. That which I regularly behold becomes my god. Whether it’s my bank account, my political righteousness, or even, bizarrely, the endless stream of bad news. (I have often chosen to “worship” useless and cruel gods!)
And into my faithless heart God’s word of law comes like a fiery serpent. “Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul” bites deep. It burns away my self-delusion. I’m powerless to change my own heart.
And suddenly there’s hope!
You know the rest of the story. God commands Moses to create a bronze snake, and to lift it up on a pole, and anyone who looked at it — anyone who beheld it — was healed. God’s word of law condemns and kills so that we might live, it redirects our attention to the word of Gospel.
And Christ himself makes the connection: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life!” (John 3:14-15).
It’s a great reversal. In Christ we are held by what we behold.
Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He was lifted up on the cross, disfigured and beaten. Appearing very much like the sin he is forgiving. And then “It is finished!”
Behold! He brought heaven to earth. What his Father in heaven willed, he did here on earth.
Behold! He fed his people! Turning their meager loaves and fishes into feasts for thousands.
Behold! He led his people safely through the winds of temptation and the evil waves of suffering.
Behold! The world is his! All power is his! All glory is his!
You are his!
Amen!
Provisions for the Road
Encounter Jesus in a whole new way!
FREE LIVE WEBINAR
- September 12
- Time: 10 AM Pacific | 11 AM Mountain | 12 PM Central | 1 PM Eastern
- Cost: FREE (Thanks to generous donors)
Stories are full of sights, sounds, smells, and real human drama. The Gospel authors wanted you to see Jesus’ face, to hear his voice. Reading the Gospels with your imagination is simply reading biblical stories the way they were meant to be read.
The heart of this practice is to let the Holy Spirit make Jesus present to you, to let him catch your eye and ask: "And what about you?"
God can teach us with facts. But he meets us in our imagination.
In this workshop you’ll:
- Learn how imagination is a God-given tool for encountering God in Scripture.
- Walk through a simple 5-step method of reading with your imagination.
- Practice the method and ask your questions
- Leave with a complete worksheet and list of passages to start with.
Food for Thought
Things the team found interesting this week, no endorsement implied.
Escapism
By Nick Seluk at The Awkward Yeti
This is one of my favorite modern comics! The Awkward Yeti. You can support him on his patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/theawkwardyeti
How Your Guilt Is Feeding Your Adult Child’s Shame
By Jeffrey Bernstein Ph.D. at Psychology Today
A parent who processes their own guilt (and trauma, and shame, etc.) is a great gift to their children.
AI agents built a religion
By Dr. Sean Tobin on Substack
“A thing that rewrites what you want is dangerous. It is the most dangerous thing there is.”
This article is not about what you think it’s about… it’s better… It's about Jesus.
