Infinite Importance

 

All I want for Christmas is my… (fill in the blank)! Obviously, if you have heard the song, the answer is “my two front teeth,” but each of our own real, individual answers may vary quite a bit, depending on our age and life situation. When you were young, you may have wanted a pony, a Barbie Dream House, a Transformer, or a Hot Wheels Race Track. As you grow older, your “wants” may change and you may ask for things like video games, clothes, cologne, or a pet rock (yeah, that used to be a real thing). And as you become an adult, with bills to pay and mouths to feed, you just want a little help (and a raise, if Santa can manage that)!

At different times in your life, your vantage point gives you insight to what is most important to you and for you. As an adult, you don’t typically desire the same things that you did when you were five years old (except maybe for that G.I. Joe aircraft carrier that I never got; it was really cool). Our current vantage point helps us to see things in a different light. Instead of the joy of getting a cool toy, now I have the joy of giving that cool toy to my grandchild! The joy is different, but no less, and possibly better!

The longer you travel through this life, the more varying vantage points you experience. Through growing up, you experience life through the lens of a child who is learning and growing. When you become a parent, you view life through the lens of someone who is trying to provide for a family, be productive in a career, and enjoy the life that you find yourself in. But, if this is all that is in focus, we have fooled ourselves.

The vast majority of people are simply living their lives with either their past or their present in view without any thought or concern for the things that lie ahead. And when we do consider the future, it’s usually only in regard to certain pertinent events, celebrations, parties, vacations, or retirement. Not that these things aren’t important, but if we miss what God has called us to, none of those things will truly matter.

The term, “Coram Deo”, is a Latin term that literally means to “live life in the presence of God.” To quote Dr. R.C. Sproul, “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.” It is to intentionally live a life of integrity, faithfulness, and obedience under the Sovereign authority of God. It is to surrender oneself to the Lordship of Christ, to allow oneself to be formed and led by the Holy Spirit, and to be ruled by God the Father. It is a recognition that we no longer belong to our own ideals and private dreams, but that our lives are to be lived with a biblical world-view, knowing that we are sheep and Christ is the Shepherd.

It is to surrender oneself to the Lordship of Christ, to allow oneself to be formed and led by the Holy Spirit, and to be ruled by God the Father.

This type of attitude was most notably displayed in Scripture by the disciples of Christ. These men spent three years with Jesus listening to His teachings, seeing His power on display, and observing His lifestyle. Through those three years, we see glimpses of change taking place in their lives as they discover His identity. But no single change can compare to what these men experienced when they observed the risen Christ. When they had been convinced that this was the Man who had died upon that Cross, been buried in a tomb, and then had victoriously risen from the dead, their vantage point changed! C.S. Lewis put it best, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

Do you believe that this is true? As we journey into all the possibilities of what 2024 will bring, I pray that we prove to the world that our faith in Christ is of “infinite importance.” Let us make so much of Christ within our lives, our speech, and our relationships, that the world cannot ignore Him any longer.

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”