Greetings Dear Reader,
I own one of those cool label makers that have a small screen
and will print out a label for you. I
purchased it at a yard sale with four different kinds of ribbon for just a few
dollars. I like to label things where I
cannot tell the difference between items easily or where knowing the contents
without opening it is advantageous.
For example, I have a set of external hard drives on which I
store movies, music, writing, and other data.
Since they are identical to the eye, they are labeled with names they
have been assigned on my network. Over
the years, this has proven quite valuable in troubleshooting and when rotating
out drives near end of life.
Similarly, I have a few storage bins that match. They are opaque but not transparent. I cannot always make out the contents so I
have labeled them. Unfortunately, I will
occasionally put things in one of those bins that does not match the category. The contents change but the label does
not.
We do the same with people and that too is unfortunate. We put a label on the individual and
determine that he or she is that. Even
when that person learns and grows, we see our affixed label and not the content
of the heart. We go by our recall from
the label and not the current contents of the package.
It is clear that we do not want to be seen by others through
the labels of our past. Another aspect
of my DYMO label maker is that it is easy to remove labels when I need to
change them. When dealing with people,
we should first be very careful about the labels we affix. As important is that we must remove them when
we see change. We must always be looking
to see if the contents have changed.
The danger of labels when affixed to humans is that we
reduce them to that alone. We put them
into neat little labeled boxes. Sometimes,
we even put those boxes on a shelf declaring the humans unworthy of our love
and kindness. We convince ourselves that
the love we show to others is enough.
Those we have labeled unworthy get relegated to the attic.
When we label others in this way, they become the “least”
that Jesus spoke of. They are never that
from his perspective but surely that have become so from ours. He is clear that how we treat those we have
labeled unworthy is how we treat him. I
know clearly how I have labeled some people.
If, however, I hope to follow Christ, I must read the labels he assigns every
human. The label he puts on everyone is
this, “worthy of my life.” He loves
every human no matter their state as deeply as he loves you and I, Dear Reader. This means that our labels fade in comparison. If we hope to follow well, we must read only
the labels assigned by Christ. They all
command us to love others as he loves them.
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:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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