Greetings Dear Reader,
There are times when an impenetrable barrier is
desired. Things such as engine seals and
protective clothing for laboratory work are examples of barriers we want to be
impenetrable. There are also barriers
that we create that are unnecessary and even dangerous when misused.
One of the things we do is we put the Word of God, the Bible
into a box and systematize our theology as if we can measure and define the
borders of how God interacts with us. Further,
we think we can define who God is and build our system of belief to order the
way he guides us. What we do instead is
create barriers to understanding the Father that do not limit him but limit our
understanding of him.
We can see an example of this in the Talmud, where there are
rules to keep us from accidentally violating the laws of the Torah. Please understand that I intend no disrespect
here. Instead, I am giving an example. The Talmud is composed of the Mishnah and the
Gemara. The Mishnah is a rabbinical commentary
on the Torah, the Law of Moses. The Gemara
is a commentary on the Mishnah. In effect, there
exists a hedge around the Law and a hedge around the hedge to keep one from
violating the Law.
We have done the same thing in the modern era with our
systematized theology. We learn about the
many areas of theology and study what things mean in the Bible. The danger is that we often do so without learning
who God is and seeing the basic foundation upon which all of it is built.
It is not that systematic theology is bad. Rather, it is secondary by far to knowing the
Father and following Christ in love and faith.
We need to learn about the one we follow and his basis for all he asks
of us. The foundation is love. Jesus said that the Law and the Prophets are
built on loving the Father and loving each other. His reference here is to the very thing that
the Talmud did to the Law. It placed the
law of love in a clear vinyl slipcover made of rules that were devoid of love,
grace, and kindness.
We have done the same thing with our modern theology and
driven people away from faith because we chose systematized law over love and
liberty. We demand that people see the Father
in the image we have distilled and faith becomes idolatry. The thing, Dear Reader is to seek the Father
with all our hearts. It is to see that
he loves us and is moving all of creation to show us that love. The only impenetrable barrier was our own
failings and he found a way through them with the atonement of the Son. Jesus died for the very purpose of creating a
way through the hedges to the Father. This
was done so that we could know him in the now.
Know You
in the Now – Michael Card
Echo of history
A light so many strain to see
The One we talk so much about
But rarely ever live it out
Could You tell me why
Was it for this You came and died
A once a week observance
When we coldly mouth Your words
Lord I long to see
Your presence in reality
But I don't know how
Let me know You in the now
We should confess
We lose You in our busyness
We've made You in our image
So our faith's idolatry
Lord, deliver me
Break my heart so I can see
All the ways You dwell in us
That You're alive in me
Lord I long to see
Your presence in reality
But I don't know how
Let me know You in the now
Your presence in reality
But I don't know how
Let me know You in the now
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 ͡°)
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Thorn:
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