Sins of the Father

Greetings Dear Reader,

Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them. – Oscar Wilde

I think that I have been fairly clear and open about the sin and selfishness that I am attempting to purge from my life. I know that I have acknowledged and sought forgiveness for the obvious ones. I have had lengthy and painful discussions with my children about my failings and asked for them to forgive me. They have assured me that I was forgiven.

Last night, in a moment of anger, someone threw some of that sin back in my face. I have not slept since. My heart is rent and my mind is askew with thoughts of how I can ever get out from underneath the past. Please do not mistake this recounting as a plea for pity. Rather I hope to warn and perhaps protect both parents and children.

Parents: do all that you can to learn from my errors. Stay true to the genuine needs and love of your children. Sacrifice whatever is necessary to help them cling to Christ and see you as an example of that. Love them enough to not make excuses for your failures so that they will not do the same. Purge things from your life that will hinder your children’s faith. I mourn weekly at church because of their no longer being there with me.

Children: do not blame your parents for your own short comings. Rather, deal with them and become the people that Christ commands you to become by his grace. Do not use your parents past sins as an excuse for your current ones. You will visit constant pain upon faithful parents if you are unfaithful. Forgive your parents and honor them. Perhaps you will find it easier to live a life that is happy.

Spouses: do not easily give up on each other. It is only a hard heart that does not see a way to reconciliation and righteous holy living. You do damage far beyond what you can imagine if you let your marriage end for your own purposes. I so dearly wish I had realized this enough to act on it many years ago.

I do not see at the moment how I will recover from the pain I feel today. I know I have done better than my parents did but not as good as I could have. I know my children can do better than me. At the moment I feel like a woeful prophet begging the small world I live in to see the path they are on and make strides to find the footprints of Christ. Only in following him will they avoid the anguish I feel today.

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."