And it is in Dying that we are Born to Eternal Life

Greetings Dear Reader,

I am dying.  We all are dying.  The thing about life is that we do not get out alive; or do we?  At this point I probably have more years behind me than in front of me.  That said it is not the temporary physical life that matters.  There is more than this life, but it is in this life that we must die to self to make the most of what is to come.  I am not talking about some ethereal mansion or future paradise.

What I am talking about is our part in the redemption of a fallen world.  We are to be part of the reclamation process.  We are to live the things I have written about for the last two weeks in an effort to reclaim a world devastated by our sin.  I am sure there is more to come after this mortal interlude but for some reason the Father has chosen to make this part very important.  I cannot with integrity say what that something is but I do know that Christ promised it would be just what we need.  Again, that needs to be enough no matter what my questions are.

All of this is only possible through faith.  The only way that I can hope to die to self is by believing that God knows what he is up to and has only his best in mind for me.  If he asks me to work toward peace it is not just on my social level.  He is asking that even though I am temporarily stranded in this world it is so that I may work for peace on a universal level.  He calls me to die to my own fallen self and work with him to redeem as much of what is as possible.

I get so weary of struggling with sin and with failing.  I see the damage it does and I am ever increasingly driven to work tirelessly to sow love, pardon, faith, hope, and joy in others.  It is so important to those who have not found the peace that is in Christ that they first see it in others. 

It is also vital to those who have chosen to question the value of their walk with Christ that I abandon my own interests in hope of disappearing enough for them to see only Christ.  I will still fail at times and ask pardon in advance for that. For now I will sit quietly for a moment each day and pray this prayer in hope that it will become who I am.  Look for me among the dead.  That is where I am supposed to be found.  Thank you for traveling with me on this part of the journey.  I hope I have at least given you something to ponder.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. – Saint Francis of Assisi

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."