How Can You Know Me - Not by my Demands

Greetings Dear Reader,

If you read this BLOG regularly you know that I want everyone to have affordable competent healthcare.  I am not sure we are going about it the right way.  A bad start, however, is better than nothing. 

It lacks compassion to fight against healthcare without a plan to care for health.  Worse still there are those who wish to be seen as Christ followers who place heavy demands on those seeking to follow Christ.  The demands are often designed to get humans to change behavior in order to pursue Christ. 

So many other demands are placed on following.  One will be told how much to give, what to wear, even who to hate.  There are churches that extort their congregations for their own purposes.  This is the worst form of taking the name of the Lord in vain.

Other demands say that one must “clean up” one’s life before Jesus wall accept him or her.  This is like saying that you have to get better before you can see the doctor.  It is not the place of man to think he can merit God’s favor.  It is given freely through the death of Christ.  We are loved and accepted unconditionally. 

When we place any conditions on following Christ other than those he places on following we are wrong.  Following begins with faith.  Following in faith is the only way to follow.  One does not have to “do” anything to be “good enough” to follow Christ. 

Once one accepts the challenge to follow Christ he will ask us to change.  It is never, however, to gain acceptance.  It is also anyone else’s prerogative to tell you how one has to be to follow Christ.   I will talk about what  a Christ follower looks like but it is not my place Dear Reader to tell you what you have to do to be a “:good Christian.” 

Hold those of us who claim to follow accountable.  If we add any conditions to following other than following in faith we are misleading you.  If we ask to be known by our demands and practices then know that we are putting more baggage in the Gospel than Christ does.

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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