Greetings Dear Reader,
When we think of hedges in our culture, they are mostly good
things. They serve as fence lines and
border markers. Properly groomed hedges
make beautiful yards, sculptures, and mazes.
It is the social, intellectual, and political hedges we make
that cause difficulty. We saw it from
the beginning. When Eve speaks to the
serpent about the Tree of Knowledge, she accurately says that they are not to
eat from it. She adds a hedge. She continues that they are not to touch it or
they will die.
The Pharisees built a hedge around the Law making it
burdensome and unbearable for the common Jew.
They used their hedge to rob and control people. Leaf by leaf they increased their power over
the people and corrupted the very Law they said they were protecting.
The church does the same thing. They add hedges around the freedom we have in
Christ. Whether it is the Health and
Wealth gospel or creating rules that are not backed up by the Bible, churches build
hedgerows that limit our freedom in Christ.
They add barriers by creating a law or works that are “evidence” of our
faith.
One example is when churches demonize any use of
alcohol. An honest reading of the Bible makes
it clear that the Father allows us to enjoy alcohol and requires that we not
abuse it. Instead of teaching
self-discipline and balance, some churches teach that it is always wrong and
even require people to vow not to drink.
This is a hedge around the freedom we have in Christ that weakens us as
followers.
The hedges we build are unhealthy. We wall off something and limit our education
and understanding. The danger is that I
am to follow in truth. I am to have
faith based on the Word of God and not the teaching of men. The Father hates when we turn his freedom
into bondage. He hates when we use him
to control others. This is perhaps the
most severe form of taking the Father’s name in vain; taking it for our own
purposes.
If we follow only the truth of the Gospel, we will not hate
anyone. We will not build into our faith
excuses to reject and wall off others.
Hedges are wrong when they are used to separate others from Christ. I must follow in faith that the truth is
enough. I must not allow any hedge to
come between me and loving others as Christ does. I must not allow any hedge to be a place of
offense for me or use a hedge to offend others.
Walls, Dear Reader, have no place in following Christ, even if they are beautiful
hedges. Their beauty hides a darkness
that the Father hates. That is reason enough
to avoid 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 ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads
to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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