Living “In Coram Deo”

No one, anywhere, has enough time or resources to do all the things they would like to do. Everything we say “yes” to is an automatic “no” to something else.

In this week’s lesson from Matthew 13, I suggest that the biggest dangers to our spiritual health are starvation and neglect (rocky soil and thorny soil). Those dangers arise directly from our choices about what we say “yes” to and what we say “no” to.

The problem is most of us don’t make those choices on purpose. We don’t plan to nourish our souls, so when we get home after work, rather than taking a strategic action, we take an easy action, and we re-watch the same TV show that wasn’t that funny the first seven times we watched it.

Living in coram deo means being conscious of the fact that we are living in the presence of God.

How would our choices about using time look different if Jesus accompanied us on each task?

How would our attitudes about the mundane chores of life feel different if Jesus were scrubbing toilets next to us?

How would our response to temptation change if we knew that Jesus were really beside us, helping us in the struggle, holding us by his nail-pierced hand?

Living in coram deo has the power to change our lives!

We’ll still neglect to do some things, but that neglect will be strategic neglect. 

Read Psalm 90

• What metaphors does Psalm 90 use to illustrate the brevity of human life?
• What does it mean to “number our days”? How might we do that?
• How does numbering our days give us a heart of wisdom?

Read Ephesians 5:15-16

• Look in the verses before and after this section. What do you think it means to walk “wisely”?
• How would you define “making the best use of the time”?
• Does making the best use of time eliminate recreation and rest? Why or why not?

In light of these passages, Matthew 6:33, and this morning’s lesson…

What are some things that you have been neglecting that need some attention?

What is something in your life that you need to start neglecting in order to focus on something more important?