Greetings Dear Reader,
When people talk about faith they do not always mean the
same thing that I do. It is a bad idea
to assume that when someone else talks about faith that they mean the same
thing that I do. A generic faith is not
the same as faith in Christ.
This does not mean that I discount anyone else’s faith. I may not agree with the focus or tenets of
other faith but that one has faith is a good beginning. If I am to forgo unjust expectations I must
realize that there is an exclusive arrogance to the things I believe.
Christ claims to be the singular path to redemption. This does not mean that I am better than
anyone or that God thinks more highly of me than anyone else. It does mean that others should hold me to a
higher standard. They should have a
great expectation that I live my faith completely.
This does not mean that others get to dictate what that
means. I must be loving and kind. It does not mean that I am being unloving if
I consider something wrong. How I
express that thinking is vitally important.
I must disagree in love and compassion.
The world should expect that the Church is the place to turn
when there are troubles. If we do not
live up to that then we create dichotomy that we cannot ignore. As we see the world slip the trances of the
imposed morals and values of Christ followers we need to consider a
question. Have we lived up to the great
expectations that are inherent with a faith that claims to be the way, the
truth, and the life?
I do not think we do.
We should not, therefore, be surprised when others reject or abandon
it. We cannot afford generic faith. We must have life transforming faith grounded
in barrier crushing love. I cannot
afford to compromise this. It is the great
expectation that God has for all of us who claim to love him.
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.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Posts
This is an interesting discussion to have. Your piece talks about two things that seem opposed. You say that your faith has the exclusive arrogance of stating plainly that all other paths cannot lead to salvation and that this faith does not lead to God favoring anyone above anyone else.
ReplyDeleteHow do you reconcile those ideas?
It seems to me that a person of this faith must judge someone outside of the faith to hold this truth. One can argue the details, but at it's core your faith seems to say to everyone else: "Your path is wrong and leads to a bad end."
What are your thoughts?
This is an interesting discussion to have. Your piece talks about two things that seem opposed. You say that your faith has the exclusive arrogance of stating plainly that all other paths cannot lead to salvation and that this faith does not lead to God favoring anyone above anyone else.
ReplyDeleteHow do you reconcile those ideas?
It seems to me that a person of this faith must judge someone outside of the faith to hold this truth. One can argue the details, but at it's core your faith seems to say to everyone else: "Your path is wrong and leads to a bad end."
What are your thoughts?