Priorities

Ray Ortlund post: The cathedral within

“God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son.”  Romans 1:9

There was, for Paul, a deeper dimension to his gospel ministry, beyond his public preaching and writing.  Only God could see and witness this inner world.  It was Paul’s communion with God, his very personal interiority.  Whatever else might have been happening in Paul’s life, there was a cathedral within, where God was worshiped and served in Paul’s enjoyment of the gospel.

It is always a temptation to neglect the private inward service for the sake of the public outward service.  Jesus called this inversion of priorities hypocrisy (Matthew 6:1-18).  Our Father sees and rewards in the secret place.  It is our love of appearances, our need to make an impression, which neglects that secret place.

In The City of God, Augustine tries to comfort the Christian women who had been abused in the sack of Rome.  He does it in a strange way.  He says, “Do not marvel that you have lost that by which you can win men’s praise, but you retain that which cannot be exhibited to men.”  Being a Christian virgin, set apart to the service of Christ, was esteemed a high honor.  Human judgment was aware of the physical honor lost.  Human judgment could not be aware of the interior humility and nearness to Christ gained.  As I said, I consider that line of counseling strange.  I have to wonder if it helped anyone back then.  But it helps me now.  It might help you too.  Here’s how:

If we suffer loss of honor as we are publicly perceived, and especially if it frees us from that itch for “man’s empty praise,” while also retaining and deepening our communion with God, and we discover more of the vastness of that cathedral in the heart and experience more of the services offered there, which no one but God can see — if that is where outward loss takes us, then we have gained.

And we are positioned for more fruitful outward service than ever before.