Anno Coram Deo

We don’t live here

We don’t live here

We don’t live here anymore

Singer and songwriter Jakob Dylan has some truth in these lyrics for the Christian. I find them reassuring and encouraging for the fact that we are born-again and no longer living in this earthy kingdom. We are in fact now living in a spiritual kingdom, not of this world (John 18:36). Jesus told Nicodemus by night that in order to see the kingdom of God we have to be born of water and Spirit (John 3:5). We are now children of God (1 John 3:10), no longer living under the rule of the devil but under the rule of Christ Jesus, our King. This is the year for us to know this and to live this.

In my studies this past year I have come to admit that I can do nothing good apart from God. God alone initiates anything glorifying to Him. Again, I can do nothing good in and of myself (Rom. 7:18.) The Apostle Paul says, “No one is righteous…no one understands, no one seeks for God (Rom. 3:10-11).” This, to me is good news. It may seem harsh to the reader, but it is reality in the Kingdom of God. God alone gives. God alone initiates. Jesus says that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). John the Baptist even said, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven (John 3:27).” Praise God for this!

With these few verses, can you see the pattern of Scripture? This doctrine - the set of beliefs we have to hold to - is there. This doctrine we cannot run away from or reject. We need to face it, read it, and live it. Apart from God we can do nothing. Therefore, it is in the presence of God, I want to live.Coram Deo. R.C. Sproul describes it best:

The big idea of the Christian life is coram Deo. Coram Deo captures the essence of the Christian life. This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or 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.

To be aware of the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God….To be aware of the presence of God is also to be acutely aware of His sovereignty. The uniform experience of the saints is to recognize that if God is God, then He indeed is sovereign.

I absolutely love this. This year is a year for me to live wholly in the presence of God. To take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). To live this year and every day with integrity. I do not want to compartmentalize my life, but live all under the gaze of God. I want it to be lived soli Deo gloria, for the glory of God alone.

Why? Because we don’t live here anymore. We don’t live for our jobs, our houses, our friends or families, even our ministries in church.

Why? Because we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Eph. 2:10). We live under the rule of the King of Heaven. Hallelujah! This is my prayer for this year. Let it be yours as well.