Behold

Sometimes I find myself pondering the put-on piety of some folks I know. Yeah, Im judging. But honestly, by their walking around behaving in an holier than thou manner they are subtly judging me. And other folks. We humans are always looking for ways to be better than other folks. I remember an Orthodox Jewish woman who always felt very holy when she went to get her ritual bath. She said when she walked through the street she felt contaminated if anyone touched her. But honestly, what is external holiness when we are beholding the speck in another person's eye when we have a beam in our own eye.

I know of another woman who used to pray to God using "thees" and "thous." She didn't like it when I said "you" to God cause "thee and thou" are holy words. No, they aren't! But it was hard to describe to her that thou and thee are no-longer-used familiar forms of "you." And that although she was thinking she was distancing herself from God's great holiness by saying "Thou" she was actually being quite intimate with him.

Often we simply cannot behold even the smallest truth because we are so caught up with our own perceptions. When used in the Bible, the word "behold" often translates Greek words that mean, "Carefully think on this, ponder it, look into this, examine this, really, really, really look at this."

Behold, All things have become new!

Let us really really consider that. All things. All definitions of holiness, all definitions of what love is, all definitions of what righteousness is, all definitions of what God is like, all definitions of what illness supposedly does to the body, all definitions of what normal life is supposed to be. Study the Bible and see what Jesus wanted the world to be.