Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Living (and Blogging) Coram Deo

We women are notorious for comparing ourselves with others, aren't we?
I know I struggle with it. I know in my head that we are all normal human beings, with our own strengths and weaknesses. Still, I can't seem to help myself.

I suspect that most women do a better job at keeping house than I do. On the other hand, I have mad skills at whipping up a meal when any other person would think there is nothing in the house to whip a meal up with. When it comes to homeschooling, I do none of the wonderful creative, crafty things so many seem to be able to do with their little ones. And yet we have a wonderful time with our nature study and our living books and our math games.

And I don't just compare myself and other women. I compare my children with theirs. It just seems like a natural reflex. How do their skills measure up against other children their own age? I feel encouraged in areas that they are doing better than their peers, discouraged when another skill doesn't seem to measure up.

To be honest, this is the one thing I struggle with when I blog. I know that homeschoolers are going to read what I write and compare their lives, their gifts, and their children's gifts with mine. I know this because I fall into that myself when I'm reading other people's blogs.

We all need to remember that we live coram Deo. As R.C. Sproul defines it, "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 should not matter at all what anyone else is doing. It should be enough for us (more than enough!) to try to faithfully use the gifts God has given us for his glory. It should be enough to do daily the work He has set before us.

The gifts and the callings he has given us are different from those he has given our blogging friends. We are not called to faithfully use their gifts or to do what they are called to do. We are called to encourage one another and build each other up. I hope you see that heart here, and that when you visit this blog you look for encouragement to apply to your own calling as you live before God.

We do not live before the face of the internet. (coram interrÄ“te?) We live before the face of God.