Grant that I may

Greetings Dear Reader,

I discussed yesterday how much it matters that I see that I am God’s servant. I am an adopted heir, his child, and many other beautiful things to God, but I am also his bond-slave. This matters because I must embrace that what I do that is good must be empowered by my focus on Christ. It is God that grants me the privilege to be a part of the redemption process.

If I say that I want to follow Christ, I must see that his every action was to create harmony with the Father. He lived his life totally dependent upon the will of the Father for all he did. This must be my fealty as well. I must see that I can do nothing on my own but rather must be empowered by God to work out the things we have discussed in the lives of others. It must be intentional. It must become a lifestyle. It must be because I yield everything to the leading of Christ in my thoughts and actions.

This is neither easy nor common. I seek to be uncommon. I seek to be a follower of things that eventually can cause one to be an outcast in many ways. It is fortunate that I do not have to do any of this on my own. In the dependence upon God is the promise that I will gain also the power to do what I am supposed to do.

Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians that “It is God who works to produce in you the intent; the resolve and the power to action so that may do things that please him.” We not only have provision for doing what is good from the Father but he grants us the will to do so as well. I may depend on God to grant me the will and the power to infuse love, hope, faith, and mercy into the lives of others. If I constantly yield myself to him, he will give these things to me so that I may reflect them to others and move along the redemption process. What more could I wish for than this?

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."