The Call to Behold Him

The Call to Behold Him

Beholding Him to Become Like Him.

Among the many calls made to us, the call to behold Christ, though not hidden, seems to be unseen, overlooked, or even totally neglected by many believers. Yet regardless of the other calls we are to answer, the call to behold the Son of God is far more important for the believer, especially in these last days.

The invitation to behold the Son of God is not only for believers. It is extended to all. This post has been prayerfully and carefully written to reveal practical steps anyone can take before coming to behold the Lamb of God.

1. The Call to Light and Repentance

Before beholding begins, we must first see the Light and become aware of it. This Light shines upon the heart of men to reveal their true state, leading them to repentance.

 

Matthew 4:16-18,21 KJV 

“The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

[17] From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[18] And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

[21] And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.”

 

This is the first step. The first step into the life of faith, regardless of our age, race, gender, or tribe, is the call to repentance.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

The call to repentance can come through the inner witness of the Spirit of God in a person, through an encounter, through the voice of a preacher, through the revelation of scriptures, and in many ther ways.

When a person hears the call and suddenly become aware of, or convicted of their sins, it is good news. It means the Light of God has shone upon their heart, making their sins known to them in a more profound way. This Light brings true revelation of our spiritual condition and compels us to take a decision. Without the Light shinning upon the heart, though one may hear a thousand sermons, there will be no revelation of truth.

But when the Light does shine, and we acknowledge and confess our sins, repentance is wrought and grace to live in the Light is given. (Romans 10:9; John 1:12)

 

2. The Call to Follow the Lord

The second call is the call to follow the Lord.

Jesus, after calling Peter, Andrew, James and John, said to them, “Follow me…”

Matthew 4:20,22 KJV 

“And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

[22] And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”

After repentance, there must be a following next. We don’t repent from our old ways—darkness— and stay where we used to be—darkness. True repentance puts in us a new desire to follow the Light.

Peter, Andrew, James and John didn’t only answer the call and remained where they were. They left their fishing nets and followed Jesus.

The account of Matthew, Zacheaus, Philip, Nathaniel, and others all show us the immediate response thay flows from true repentance.

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV 

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 

3. The Call to Discipleship

The third call, after following the Lord is the call to discipleship. (Matthew chpt. 5 — 9).

In the parable of the wedding feast, the bridegroom sent out his servants to call many to his wedding ceremony after those whom the king had originally invited rejected his invitation. The servants went into the streets and highways, calling all manner of people—the thief, the drunkard, the addict, the morally upright, the bad, and the outcast. They responded to the call of the Lord through those servants and followed them to the king’s wedding ceremony.

The next event that followed reveals that the king came in to see the guests. A class of those who answered the call and followed. (Matt. 22:1-14)

In the same vein, Jesus called, and the men left their nets and followed him. What where they doing as they followed? At this early phase, they were not yet actively engaged with service; rather, they were learning. They were expected to ‘sit’ and learn from him—His lifestyle, conversations, sacrifices, self denial, service, and the fruit of godliness evident in Him. By following and learning, Christ mirrored the life of God to them.

Discipleship is a call to learn of Christ. They asked questions, and He answered them. They become confused about some matters of the kingdom, and He brings clarity. He corrects them in love, loved them and taught them the principles of the kingdom— Innocency, childlike faith, humility, peacemaking, purity, and dependence upon the Father. (Matthew 18:1)

The call to discipleship is the stage where the follower is taught the discipline that makes for disciples. These includes, self denial, sacrificial love, obedience and wholehearted devotion.

 

Luke 14:27 KJV 

“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”

 

As the follower follows, observes, and learns the basics of the Kingdom, the weightier matters of the Kingdom are gradually introduced to them. In this way, they move from being mere followers to becoming disciples—from “talkers” to “stakers.”

Disciples are people who not only follow a cause but live for it, staking their very lives upon it.

 

4. The Call to Service

After the call to discipleship, the call to service becomes non-negotiable. (Ref. Matthew chpt. 10)

 

Matthew 10:1,5-7 KJV 

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

[5] These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

[6] But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

[7] And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

When converted followers become disciples, they are called into the service of the Lord. Without been told or asked to, disciples would naturally desire to serve the Lord in any capacity. Whether in the church, community, office or household environs, to serve becomes second nature. This is the hallmark of true disciples.

 

5. The Call to Behold Him

The call to behold Him is where many Christians miss it.

 

The Beholding.

 

They respond to the call. They follow. They learn about Christ. They volunteer to serve. But they overlook beholding Him.

Could the reason be that this call is not always an outright call? No explicit call to behold Him—no response?

Yet, John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ appealed to us.

“…Behold the Lamb of God!”

 

John 1:35-36 KJV 

“Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

[36] And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!”

 

John was beholding Him, and he also pointed his disciples—an by extention, us—to do likewise; Behold the Lamb of God!

This is a revelation, and I thank God it is been revealed for such a time as this. I had never noticed this unique quality of John, apart from being the forerunner of Jesus Christ and pointing others to him. But the text above reveals this distinct quality of John the Baptist who himself was “looking upon Jesus as he walked…”

John the Baptist was doing more than following and learning, he was beholding the Lamb of God. But he didn’t just behold, he pointed two of his disciples with him to also behold what he was beholding.

 

“…Behold the Lamb of God!”

 

When we truly follow and behold the Lamb of God, the words we speak will point men to the One we are beholding. And like John’s disciples, they will not follow us, they will follow Jesus.

 

“And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” (John 1:37)

 

The call to behold Him may not come as obvious, but it is written throughout scriptures.

 

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2 KJV 

 

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to keep our eyes fixated on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Beholding Him is quite different from the ‘look unto salvation’. The ‘looking‘ here is an admonition to the believer who has already confessed faith in the Son of God, to keep looking unto Him. In other words, “Keep Beholding Him”

This crucial call ensures the believer’s continued preservation in Christ.

Therefore, beholding Him is a call that must be responded to in earnest.

Many believers and disciples today have become carried away with service or merely following. To serve is good but when it begins to rob the believer or disciple of the time needed to behold Him, service soon turns into empty religious ritual. Failing to pause and Behold Him causes the believer to lose her first love. Jesus desires our beholding him more than mere activity, because service alone can make us feel more responsible but never make us look like him. It is only in beholding we become like him.

The enemy is aware of this truth, so he offers substitutes for beholding Christ: We behold our service to Him. We behold our leaders. We behold our personal work. We behold the world. We even behold our problems. These are substitute images to the Image the believer is called to behold.

Unknowingly, or perhaps, been deceived, a lot of believers have continued in active service to the Lord while hardly beholding Him. It is a grave mistake to suppose that busyness equals alignment with the Son of God. What truly gets us into alignment with him is our beholding him. When we look on him, we see him as he is and see ourselves in the light of who he is, thereby allowing us to discern those areas of our lives that needs adjustment.

Unfortunately, the gap in beholding among believers has been to the enemy’s advantage who understands the transformative power of beholding the Son of God.

He knows that beholding him makes us become more like him. Beholding him purifies our motives. Beholding him convinces us of sin and bring us back into alignment. Beholding him cleanses us from all sins. In beholding him, we are change into the same image, from glory to glory.

Our continual beholding does a work in us more than we realise. It creates a deeper bond between us and the Father of Love. More than following, beholding Him traps some of God’s nature into ours. We are changed into His image.

 

2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV 

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

 

To become more like Christ, we must learn to behold him.

 

Beholding Christ

How do we start responding to the call to behold the Lamb of God?

 

Behold Him Through The Word.

We behold Him through His Word. Looking into the Scriptures and staying there for help and revelation is a powerful way to behold Him. The Word reveals His nature, His heart, and His glory, allowing our eyes to be fixed on Him.

 

Behold Him In His Presence.

Creating intentional time to be in His presence—just being still before Him, not necessarily praying, but gazing upon the Son with a heart tuned to Him—is another profound way to behold Him. Meditating on His words, especially those His Spirit has spoken to your spirit, and expressing love for Him, are powerful forms of beholding.

A meditative recounting of His love, faithfulness, and mercy toward you is an excellent way to behold Him. Beholding Him requires the ability to be still in His presence, without feeling pressured to attend to other matters. Only those who consider Him worthy of such focused devotion can truly give Him this attention—and the reward is seen in the transformation that follows.

Those who Behold, Become. And only those who become are called sons.

 

The more we behold him, the more we desire him, and the more we become like him Share on X

 

(Would you like to know the difference between: Sons of God and Children of God? Stay connected for future post updates)

 

The more we behold him, the more we desire him, and the more we become like him.

 

Call to Holiness

It is in beholding that the call to holiness resonates most powerfully within our spirit.

The call to Holiness is a foundational matter. The foundation is the strength of any building. The heart of the believer is his foundation. Without holiness of heart, the believer is unstable.

Christ called the early apostles to follow him. They answered the call unto salvation and followed. They went from followers to disciples, but they still fight with words, they still lobby for priestly position, to know who would be the greatest in God’s kingdom. They still condemn what they don’t understand, they still struggle with the word of God.

They loved God but the matter of the heart is the heart of the matter. Christ needed to pray for their Sanctification.

Ref. John 17:1-26 

 

The purpose of Christ’s coming was to reconcile mankind back to God through salvation. Achieving this requires the fruit of the Spirit present—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5:22-23).

The disciples in their early walk, had none of these. How would they reconcile men to God when Jesus eventually leave them? Through fighting, arguments, lobbying? No. Only disciples who have learned to behold the Master will work like the Master in holiness and uprightness of heart.

 

“And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!”