An audience of One

[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. — Philippians 2:7

When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, ‘twill soon be past/Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?

According to Jesus, it’s what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.

Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God’s opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.

How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about providing ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. — Philip Yancey

Teach me, my God and King,

In all things Thee to see,

And what I do in anything,

To do it as for Thee! — Herbert

READ: Matthew 6:1-6

Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.

The Bible in one year:

• Song of Songs 7-8

• Proverbs 20:21-30