Coram Deo... refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. It captures the essence of the Christian Life...
To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent an omnipotent. There is no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze. To be aware of the presence of God is also to be acutely aware of His sovereignty.
The uniform experience of the saints is to recognize that if God is God, then He is indeed sovereign. When Saul was confronted by the refulgent glory of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, his immediate question was, "Who is it, Lord?" He wasn't sure who was speaking to him, but he knew that whomever it was, was certainly sovereign over him.
To strive each day to live all of life "coram Deo" is to live a life of integrity. It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in the supremacy of God. A fragmented life is a life of disintegration. It is marked by inconsistency, disharmony, confusion, conflict, contradiction, and chaos...
This means that if a person strives to fulfill his or her vocation as a contractor, carpenter, steelmaker, manager, secretary, doctor, attorney, or homemaker "coram Deo", then that person is serving as each person was designed for by their Creator. It means that David was as faithful when he obeyed God's call to be a shepherd as he was when he was anointed with the special grace of kingship. It means that Jesus was every bit as faithful when He worked in His father's carpenter shop as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane...
Integrity is found where men and women live their lives in a pattern of consistency. It is a life that is open before God. It is a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility before God, not defiance. It is a life lived under the tutelage of conscience that is held captive by the Word of God...