By Dr. James C. Denison
President, Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, TexasNovember 30, 2009
Topic: intimacy with God
Caesar and the Secret Service
What did Julius Caesar really look like? The image you remember from high school history class comes from statues made long after the conqueror was assassinated in 44 B.C. Historians have never been quite sure of the man's true appearance, since Romans tended to idealize their leaders after their death.
Today's New York Times shows us what is likely the earliest known bust of Caesar, made during his lifetime and excavated two years ago in France: "The Roman appears with little hair, a wrinkled forehead, a prominent Adam's apple." Not exactly the stuff of legend. Apparently his portrait was sculpted on a Monday morning after Thanksgiving.
Are you having a hard time getting motivated today? Eating turkey until you never want to see another drumstick? Shaking off the dopamine in turkey meat and 29 football games? Cheer up: At least you don't work for the Secret Service.
Washington continues to be preoccupied with the Virginia couple who sneaked into a White House state dinner last Tuesday evening. Today's Times tells us that Michaele and Tareq Salahi are apparently trying to be selected for a new reality show, "The Real Housewives of D.C." They met the president and other dignitaries, but no one is quite sure how. Or what to do to prevent a similar security lapse as the busy holiday party season approaches.
We may never know personally the Caesars of our day, but take heart: the real King of the universe wants to know us. Romans 5:8 contains the good news of Christmas in a single sentence: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
The One who came at Christmas wants a personal, intimate, continual relationship with you and me. He wants to be more than the subject of a Sunday morning worship service and occasional prayer or Bible study. He wants to be the center of our lives, the Object of our thoughts and affections, the King of our choices. He wants to lead us into "life to the full" (John 10:10), but we must open his gift.
This morning's reading in Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest is my favorite essay in this classic devotional guide: "There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God's purposes, and yours may be that life."
How will you maintain your relationship with Jesus "at all costs" today?
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Monday, November 30, 2009
God Issues: Caesar and the Secret Service
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