03 October 2013

Dormant Faith – Because of the Cost

Greetings Dear Reader,

If I live my faith it will cost me something.  This is just true.  I will have to give up things that are selfish and vain.  I may have to forgo things that I want.  I will have to care about the needs of others over my own.  I will have to control my anger.  I will have to forgive even when I do not wish to forgive.

At times it will seem easier to mothball my faith because of the cost.  I know people who have.  It will be easier to cloak the choice in logic and reason.  Perhaps it will be easier to deny the need for faith at all.  I cannot do this. 

I have moved through times when I had no faith.  I have been down the path where I just ignored the requirements of my beliefs.  I have failed often to live the faith I love.  I have even violated the faith I have because the cost was just too high at the time.  This is such a desolate choice. 

Untested faith is not of much value.  When my faith is tested it is an opportunity for me to be who I wish to be.  It is a chance to follow Christ more closely.  Instead of this there are times when I have done as I wanted because I felt the cost of keeping the faith was too high.  I have learned that making my faith dormant in any area for any reason leads to pain for me and for others.  The cost is only too high if I do not live my faith; too high for me and for others.

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."

1 comment:

  1. I kind of feel that you can replace the word "faith" with "values" or "code" and have the same effect. I do have a set of values and ideas that I try to adhere to. Many of them are based upon what I learned in Sunday school, particularly how I treat other people. Others I adopted along the way after deep reflection. I learned empathy after dealing with the frustration of others' aggression. I learned humility as an employee, having the difference between a personal problem and a business problem defined for me.

    Of course, the code or values I follow wouldn't exist without the mentors I had along the way, but aside from Sunday school, the mentors were not found in the church. What I found there were examples of how not to act, and the lesson of mob mentality and group control. All of my mentors have been free-thinkers, whether religious or atheist.

    I recognize that you never specify religion, and I think that's important. Faith and values both mean more when it's a journey you've taken to reach them, rather than words you are told and expected to follow.

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