Remember the Latin phrase anno domini? For many years, throughout the west, “AD” has been used to denote which particular year we find ourselves. For instance, we would say we are in the end of the year of our Lord 2023, and we understand every year since the coming of our Lord as a “year of our Lord.” Amazingly enough, despite the modern attempt to shift BC/AD to BCE (before common era) and CE (common era), our entire world is set to the coming of God’s Son.
A new year of our Lord is set before us—2024. A new year presents new opportunity. There is an undeniable freshness when January 1st rolls around, and, for this reason, many Christians wisely assess the previous year and make plans for the new one. While we do not presume God will give us full health and life for the entirety of 2024 (James 4:14), we want to use the time well that He does give (Ephesians 5:16).
Most changes we know we ought to make are already something we know. Probably the most popular—or infamous—is to lose weight. Despite all the health information at our fingertips, and the knowledge we have that lack of movement and sugar-laden foods keep us heavier, we continue to make poor choices. We know the benefit of reading far exceeds television. We know Bible reading and prayer is far more valuable than scrolling on a phone. So what is our problem? At the risk of sounding like a self-help guru: it comes down to one thing.
While digging deeper and having a good coach or accountability can be helpful for a time, the real key is Coram Deo. Another Latin phrase? Yes, just one more but one that if you grab a hold of it will truly change everything. It simply means this: before the face of God.
Tomorrow, during worship, we will explore this theme further, which will be the theme of WCF for 2024.
May God help us all to grow in 2024—as individuals and as a church—to have a deep and experiential sense of this wonderful truth.
