Greetings Dear Reader,
Pilgrims of passion we follow the One,
Pilgrims of passion we follow the One,
Who holds out a cross and a crown.
We travel a dark road that has but one Light,
For we have here no lasting town. – Michael Card
In pondering the challenges of following Christ one of the things I have never mastered is my surprise when my choices to do what is right bring me ridicule and condemnation. Sometimes I have been the one to cause my own grief by standing for what is right in the wrong way. Beyond that, there I times when I stand for what is right, in the right way it still brings a level of contempt from others. What is wrong is that I am surprised by it.
I am so quick to embrace the blessings and benefits or my relationship with Christ. I am also very quick to hang on to things that give me comfort but are temporal. I am often tempted to cling to things that are not healthy for me. As I have begun to look more carefully at the things that truly matter, it is rarely things that matter.
The two ponderings merge into a single truth. I am a traveler and if I am to succeed in traveling I must travel lighter. I am a stranger or alien wherever I go and I should only have that which is necessary with me. I need to remember that strangers are not always welcome. I need to remind myself daily that the one I follow promises both joy and suffering in the journey. I cannot accept the former without the latter.
I must also remember that the road I travel is dark and dangerous. Man is not basically good. All mankind is depraved and the surprise should be when we do good. Instead I tend to get enamored over things that are fleeting and temporary. I put my hope in people and then am surprised when they let me down. I cannot count on people but I should always hope in them. I should expect the best from others but count on Christ to sustain me.
The dark road is all there is except for the light that beacons us. So I approach giving my best to people who I know will hurt me focused not on the road, the danger, or the hoped for return, but focused on Christ. I must see him clearly with both cross and crown. I must see the scars and the smile. No matter what is up the road Christ is already there and knows what I need. All I need do is look for him and all else will become what it is meant to become. We are after just pilgrims; fellow travelers. We are but strangers in a very strange land.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."
In pondering the challenges of following Christ one of the things I have never mastered is my surprise when my choices to do what is right bring me ridicule and condemnation. Sometimes I have been the one to cause my own grief by standing for what is right in the wrong way. Beyond that, there I times when I stand for what is right, in the right way it still brings a level of contempt from others. What is wrong is that I am surprised by it.I am so quick to embrace the blessings and benefits or my relationship with Christ. I am also very quick to hang on to things that give me comfort but are temporal. I am often tempted to cling to things that are not healthy for me. As I have begun to look more carefully at the things that truly matter, it is rarely things that matter.
The two ponderings merge into a single truth. I am a traveler and if I am to succeed in traveling I must travel lighter. I am a stranger or alien wherever I go and I should only have that which is necessary with me. I need to remember that strangers are not always welcome. I need to remind myself daily that the one I follow promises both joy and suffering in the journey. I cannot accept the former without the latter.
I must also remember that the road I travel is dark and dangerous. Man is not basically good. All mankind is depraved and the surprise should be when we do good. Instead I tend to get enamored over things that are fleeting and temporary. I put my hope in people and then am surprised when they let me down. I cannot count on people but I should always hope in them. I should expect the best from others but count on Christ to sustain me.
The dark road is all there is except for the light that beacons us. So I approach giving my best to people who I know will hurt me focused not on the road, the danger, or the hoped for return, but focused on Christ. I must see him clearly with both cross and crown. I must see the scars and the smile. No matter what is up the road Christ is already there and knows what I need. All I need do is look for him and all else will become what it is meant to become. We are after just pilgrims; fellow travelers. We are but strangers in a very strange land.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."
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