TR Hartley

To Whom do we live?

When I was a teenager, I was very involved in our church’s youth choir.

I grew up attending a large church, and our Senior High Choir had over 100 teenagers in it. And, because of the size of our church, and our Youth Choir, we had the opportunity to go on Choir Tour each summer, to different cities around the nation – Washington DC, Miami, San Antonio, and one year, to Tarnów, Poland!

One (slightly odd) commonality between every performance or concert we gave was an empty, large, plush rocker/recliner chair in front of the stage, near where our choir director stood.

Our choir director had that heavy rocker/recliner chair dragged to many venues in a number of cities, all to give us a visualization of something he wanted us to understand. He wanted us to picture God sitting in that chair.

So, regardless of how many people heard us perform the music we had rehearsed, we were doing it for only One Person. Whether we were in a small country-side church with only a few dozen people in attendance or singing the National Anthem a baseball game in a packed stadium, our performance was to God. And if other people enjoyed it, good! But we were encouraged to picture God sitting on that recliner, and to remember that everything we did was for Him.

That thought has stuck with me over all the years since I was a teenager.

This thought, of an “Audience of One”, I think is both helpful and instructive.

To Whom do we live?

Of course, our lives will impact and influence those around us. Family and friends, neighbors and coworkers, as Christians we show a love and a life that invites them to “taste and see that God is good” (Psalm 34:8). That’s not something to be avoided, but leaned into; the Bible is rife with that lesson. (Ie, Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”, etc.) We need to care about how our lives, actions, and words are affecting those around us!

(For more on this, you can see my article “Don’t Worry What Others Think?“)

But, at the end of the day, there is only One Judge, and only One Lord that Christians are called to live their lives unto. Paul explained it this way to the people of Athens: “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

How about you? Are you concerned and preoccupied with how those around you will approve or disapprove of your words, actions, decisions?

Or are you living in the freedom found only in understanding “an audience of One”?

To be honest, this is still a growing edge for me. I want the approval, the affirmation of those around me, that I’m doing well, that I’m doing “the right thing”.

I think for many Christians, this “Audience of One” mentality is something that they can mentally agree with, but is still somewhat removed from their experiences, days, values, emotions, etc.

So, if that describes you, I would encourage you to pray with me:

“God, help me to see You as the Audience of my life, the One to Whom and in Whom I live. Please help me to have an increasing focus, awareness, and understanding of Your perspective of my life, and help me to have an ever-increasing value for my life being pleasing to You. In Jesus’ Name, amen!”