Audience of One

Over the years, I have heard many compare life itself to various things.
To me, life and the lives of others is sort of like an orchestra.
Like the orchestra, there are many parts to the whole; the whole is the meaningful state which God places on human life itself.
As we live, each life individually plays an intricate part in the symphony which God is orchestrating through our lives and will end in the glorification of Christ.

Looking throughout the Cleveland Clinic, I realize thousands upon thousands of people go through the Clinic's corridors each year.
All of them are trying to hang on to life or the life of someone they love.

Hundreds of doctors, nurses and other medical types believe whole-heartedly that man is little more than an advanced animal.
We are at the top of the food chain only because we have evolved as such.
Yet, I cannot help think that if they totally believed that we are nothing more than animals then they would see their sickness and illnesses as just part of nature.
Instead - everybody is hoping to get better and go home.

If we are just animals, we have no accountability to any type of a Higher Power; therefore, why not live for pleasure?
Yet, most do not - most people regardless of what they say they believe, adhere to some type of moral code and belief system.
We are not animals, as evidenced by the fact that we look beyond ourselves, above ourselves for direction and ordering of our lives.
This is God's world and a Christian should see it differently.

All people are made in the image of God; yet, the image is marred.
We find this true in every person that we meet.
Over time Christians have gotten the reputation of being anti-pleasure; but the truth is that God did not create desires within us only to expect us to renounce them.
God wants us to have the most satisfying life possible; He gives good gifts but we must then decide whether or not they will remain good and fulfilling in our life.

In our high-tech, modern world tends to divide the sacred & secular; as such, it is difficult to see how one event or work connects to any other event or anything else. 
This makes it even more difficult to learn the spiritual lessons God is trying to teach us each day.
And what's worse is that many people get up in the morning, commute to work, work most of the day, return home, eat, and go to bed; the next day they do the same thing again.
This leaves very little time for actually living; and in our living, Godly learning.

I study and preach about God; yet, I realize that it is very difficult to see God in every mundane task of life.
Sometimes it is even difficult to see Him in huge events; such as tragic events like sickness and death.
To see Him in everyday life, it requires a trained eye.
All the details of life MUST serve an overall purpose in life; even the mundane tasks for nothing is without purpose in this universe.
To a trained eye looking for God's work, it can recognize lasting value in the mundane.

Sometimes it helps to remember what Jesus said to His disciples, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you..."

Those words are applied to the 12, but they can also be applied to me and you.
You and I are to live for God, not for other people because He has chosen  us and redeemed us by the atoning sacrifice of His Son.

If you and I lived life in a manner which demonstrated that we were playing to an audience of One, how much different would your life be?
Would your cranky boss or immoral co-worker really have any meaning to your life?
Or what about the nosy neighbor or the persnickety Sunday School teacher?
Would these people who seem to have such an effect on our lives now, continue to have the same effect if we were more concerned about living primarily for Christ and His glory?

Nah...they would not  hold much meaning at all because all meaning would be wrapped up in God.
The standard of success would drastically change if we began to live life truthfully; and the truth of life is that we are indeed living it out before God.
Due to the fact that God really does exist, everything in our lives has significance.

And we should act accordingly for our Audience of One.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.