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Just A Thought: Coram Deo

January 27, 2013 0 comments

Posted in: Just a Thought

I remember my mother standing in front of me, her hands on her hips, her eyes glaring - saying, “Just what is the big idea, young man?”  Her question was not a question at all - it was a thinly veiled accusation.  Translation: “Why are you doing what you are doing?”  She was challenging me to justify my behavior.  Our friends could ask the same question,  “What’s the big idea of the Christian life?”  What is the overarching, ultimate goal of the Christian life?

To answer this question, I want to use a Latin term. “The big idea of the Christian life is coram Deo. (before the face of God) To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.

The big idea is that all of life is religious or none of life is religious.This means that if a person fulfills his or her vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, teacher, or homemaker coram Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as the preacher who fulfills his vocation. It means that David was as religious when he obeyed God’s call to be a shepherd as he was when he was anointed king. It means that Jesus was every bit as religious when He worked in His father’s carpenter shop as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Integrity is found where people live their lives in a pattern of consistency. It’s a pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church. It’s a life that is open before God. It’s a life in which all that is done is done as to the Lord. It’s a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility before God, not defiance. It’s a life that is held captive by the Word of God.

Coram Deo … before the face of God. That’s the big idea.

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