Too Much Baggage for the Journey – What to Think

Greetings Dear Reader,

Thomas Traherne wrote, “To think well is to serve God in the interior court.”  If you have not read Centuries of Meditations then I highly recommend it.  Too often we add baggage to following Christ that is unnecessary.  One of those is telling people what to think instead of teaching them to think critically. 

Too often we tell people who to think about other faiths, the practices of others, and the world in general.  I have dear friends who have walked away from faith because of being told things that just are not true about following Christ.  Those lies have cost the church the support of good people.  Some of those people carry emotional damage that hinders their ability to believe.

The Father promises us that we will find him if we seek him with all or our heart.  If what I believe is true I do not have to invent constructs to manipulate the thinking of others.  If my faith has merit then I need not fear truth and open discussion.  Whether it is the Spanish Inquisition or social programming hatred based on fear telling people to think in any way other than loving others is too much baggage for the Gospel.

We can face the questions others have about our faith without fear, anger, hatred, or manipulation.  We can trust that God is true. If we obey his command to reason with others through love we can show that our faith has merit.  There are enough false representations of who Christ is without needing to manipulate the thinking of others.

Honest rational thinking may at first seem to draw us away from faith.  If we continue to seek the truth with integrity it leads to the conclusion that faith is vital, reasonable, and honest.  The journey is long enough without carrying the baggage of dishonest thinking.  The Gospel can stand on its own in the light of honesty.  After all if we let God be true then it he will show himself if we seek him. 

I do not want to tell anyone what to think.  I want to live a good example of following Christ and insist that others think honestly.  

Centuries of Meditations - Mediation 10 – Thomas Traherne

To think well is to serve God in the interior court: To have a mind composed of Divine Thoughts, and set in frame, to be like Him within. To conceive aright and to enjoy the world, is to conceive the Holy Ghost, and to see His Love: which is the Mind of the Father. And this more pleaseth Him than many Worlds, could we create as fair and great as this. For when we are once acquainted with the world, you will find the goodness and wisdom of God so manifest therein, that it was impossible another, or better should be made. Which being made to be enjoyed, nothing can please or serve Him more, than the Soul that enjoys it. For that Soul doth accomplish the end of His desire in creating it.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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