8/16/2004 08:58:32 AM|||Laura|||Carpe Dealem - Shop at Big Lots? Okay, I'm as much for a bargain as the next person, but I admit this is silly. I included it because we all know people who will never own enough possessions to satisfy them. Their whole lives consist of siezing the next deal. Their joy is found in what they possess, never dreaming that their possessions own them. There but for the grace of God go I.
Carpe Diem - Seize the Day
car·pe di·em (kärp dm, -m, d-) interj. Used as an admonition to seize the
pleasures of the moment without concern for the future. n. Such an admonition.
[Latin : carpe, seize + diem, day.] (dictionary.com)
This entered pop culture when the movie Dead Poets Society came out in the 80s. Robin Williams' character advised his students to make the most of every day, to sieze the days and make them their own. Live live to the fullest. Dare I say, Go for the gusto? Nah! If life really does end at death, if there is no eternal life, then this is very good advice... load up on the fun now because soon it's all over! But in reality the constant pursuit of pleasure is unfulfilling and exhausting. I've tried it.
Coram Deo - before the face of God
If we believe that life IS eternal, then this is the only real choice. Who wants to stand before God and admit to having seized the deal or the day? In a place where the very streets are paved with gold, material possessions are pretty well irrelevant. Where time does not exist, what does a day mean? Well, after reading Don't Waste Your Life, and while reading Pleasures Evermore, I'm convinced that a life of serving God is satisfying and rewarding on every level. But living coram deo...
Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies. God wills
that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there. This is
to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be
held, it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day. This Flame of the
Presence was the beating heart of the Levitical order. Without it all the
appointments of the tabernacle were characters of some unknown language; they
had no meaning for Israel or for us. The greatest fact of the tabernacle was
that Jehovah was there; a Presence was waiting within the veil. Similarly the
Presence of God is the central fact of Christianity. At the heart of the
Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to
conscious awareness of His Presence. (The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer Chpt. 3)
to think of God waiting for me, eagerly wanting this to happen, and that in fact was the whole point of Jesus' death! To say it's a mystery to me is the understatement of the century. But how to do it? According to Matt Mason, one of the pastors at my church, knowing who God is, knowing His qualities, is an integral part of this. Knowing that the only thing of real value (as in Psalm 27) is the Lord. In the meantime, I think I'll go listen to Matt's sermon, Seeking the Face of God, on this again.
|||109266703710185322|||Coram Deo, Carpe Diem, Carpe Dealem