That Hideous Strength

Greetings Dear Reader,

“They would say,” he answered, “that you do not fail in obedience through lack of love, but have lost love because you never attempted obedience.”
― C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength

How deeply we have seen this permeate our world.  Without thumping too much, I want to point out that Paul warns us clearly about this:

2 Timothy 3:1-4 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

In this warning, Paul lists disobedience to parents as one of the dangers.  He contrasts the love of self and money with being without love.   The lack of forgiveness and self-control clearly mark our culture.  Treachery, conceit, and hedonism permeate our world.  Do not think I am about to get on a stump about any of this. 

What I want to see clearly is that we lack love because we must violate love to do all of these things.  It is our failure to obey that leads us to a lack of love.  It is our refusal to obey what is good and right that diminished our capacity to love others.  We decide that we no longer care for others.  We reject and slander people we once called our fellow travelers; people we promised to love always.  We make rash choices with long enduring consequences.  We put our pleasure and demand for satisfaction above that which is holy and good.

We lose our capacity to love because we have forgotten how to obey out of gratitude, respect, and the desire to satisfy our own wants.  In contrast, when we show genuine love for others, it surprises them.  People are so unaccustomed to relentless, unyielding love that it overshadows so many other things. 

The strength of a world that is self-absorbed is hideous.  The power that we wield when others have need of love is so very great.  We do great harm or great good by our choices to obey or disobey love.  I have been guilty of the first and blessed to participate in the latter.  Like so many, I wield hideous strength when I act in ways that are disobedient to the command to love always.  Then I am surprised when I lack the love I need.

We need to obey what is right no matter how we feel.  When we do, the power to love will flow from us in ways we cannot imagine.  I will obey the commands to forgive, to be kind, and to love no matter who I feel.  Perhaps then the feelings will follow.  If they do not, however, I have still shown love and that is my true passion.  That is true obedience Dear Reader.  It is why I will love you no matter what.  It is why I am learning to obey this primary command at any cost.

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

Novels on Amazon             

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

Facebook        Google +    Twitter     

Medium   Instagram  Kids BLOG   

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/