Greetings Dear Reader,
We have heard the
old saw about never seeing a hearse pulling a U-Haul. Still, the Pharaohs built tombs and filled
them with things they would need in the afterlife. We gather things up until the end in most
cases. We hold on to all the wrong things
most of the time.
Whether things are
good or bad, there is always a need to hold on for some reason. There will be times even in prosperity where
we have to hold on to things that are dear to us. It is in the holding that we discover what we
value.
We live in a
culture where we rent storage rooms because we hold on to all the wrong
things. We gather possessions and have
much more than we need. Even now, after
purging almost everything I own, I own too much. Last evening, I went through another round of
divesting myself of things I do not need but possess too many. I felt the loadstone pull to hold onto them.
Life draws us to
hold things that we do not need, do not matter, or will harm us when the only
thing we can truly hold is Christ. In
that even, it is Jesus that holds us and no one can rest us from his grasp. Anything we hold other than Christ is useless
and will diminish.
Through Christ we
can hold onto love, life, and light even in the darkest and loneliest of days. I can walk through anything I must to keep
following Christ because of a certainty of which I am reminded by my friend Tripp
and by Job. It is that we hold on in
hope. We endure in hope. Our faith yields hope that whether the
darkness is spiritual, metaphorical, or actual, after it there is more. Beyond it there is real enduring light. Post tenebras spero lucem
("After darkness, I hope for light").
This is Job as translated from the Latin Vulgate. The passage is worth understanding in
context. His friends are chiding him and
blaming him for his trials and terrors.
Here is the framing of his statement:
Job 17:10-12 (NASB)
10 “But come again all of you now,
For I do not find a wise man among you.
11 “My days are past, my plans are torn apart,
Even the wishes of my heart.
12 “They make night into day, saying,
‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.
10 “But come again all of you now,
For I do not find a wise man among you.
11 “My days are past, my plans are torn apart,
Even the wishes of my heart.
12 “They make night into day, saying,
‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.
In chapter 18, another
of his friends argues with him that he must be guilty of something and he needs
to quit making excuses. Job, in the
darkness of loss, pain, and terror says this:
Job 19:25-27 (NASB)
25 “As
for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last, He will take His stand on the earth.
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!”
And at the last, He will take His stand on the earth.
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!”
I have no excuse
for not holding onto Christ. I have made
the error of trying to hold other things that will not care for me. They are things, control, and power. They do not comfort or care. They badger and batter for my attention and
love but give no love in return. I cannot
hold on to people. I grip chokes too
much and they are not mine to hold. They
are mine to love and cherish but they belong to the Father and they are his to
hold.
During this
distress and any other, it comes to the same choice that it is during times of
plenty and joy. What will I carry with
me? What will I hold? If the answer is anything other than Christ,
I will lose and I will suffer. I have
already lost much through failing at this.
I will do my best for what time remains to hold on to Christ alone. This I can do and share it infinitely with
anyone. I will dream my dreams and seek
my path home. You are welcome to journey with me,
Dear Reader. I have failed you in the
past, but I hold on to hope that the Father will make all things good between
us eventually.
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 ͡°)
Every human
story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything
back to Good.
Contacts
for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
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