25 Ways to Give – December 16th

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

It is so easy to look at others and decide that we are somehow better than them. It is natural to make our sins of less import than the sins of others. It is easy to look at how those who do not follow Christ corrupt the thing we who do cherish and to judge them. What is difficult is to see them as Christ sees them.

Recently someone submitted a comment on my post railing against the celebration of Christmas. I chose not to publish the comment because of the tone and judgment in the response. I harbor no ill will toward the commentator nor do I think that everything he said is wrong. What I do see is that unless we stop judging each other and the fallen world we will not be able to be known by our benchmark: our love for each other.

I urge you to give everyone around you the gift of withholding your judgment and condemnation. It is not my place to rail against anything. It is my place to do all that I can to show love, kindness, and compassion to those around me. We celebrate the birth of Christ because that is the beginning of the march toward the cross and the payment for our redemption. The Father saw fit to celebrate the event with shepherds and angels. I continue to celebrate the great gift by giving small gifts to those I love.

The corner of my smile and mirth will always be that God loves me enough to redeem me. The shadow of it will be the knowledge of the price God paid for MY sin. I will do my best to withhold judgment and give my love and kindness to others. Try it. It feels great.

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."