Greetings Dear Reader,
There is a short story that captivated me when in high
school. It is “How Much Land Does a
Man Need?” by Leo Tolstoy. I will
not spoil it for you but it is an excellent commentary on how we turn genuine
desire to do better into greed and excess.
If you run off to read Tolstoy straight away, please
return. You see, I have thoughts on this
that may help us journey through the current distress and beyond. As I ponder what I have, I know I have more
than I need. I usually eat breakfast
whilst writing my blog. This morning it occurred
to me that I have so much more food than many in the world. My small larder holds enough for at least a
week and if I am careful, a fortnight.
As I ponder this, I find my mind wishing that I had a larger
larder or refrigerator. That is not,
however, what I really wish. That is me
wanting to possess more. It is my failed
self, trying to control my future. It is
not me depending on the Father for my daily bread.
We do this in so many ways.
We want a little more space, money, or possessions. We pursue that which is temporary, using up
life to gain things that cannot give life.
When I pursue anything over the love and care of people, I diminish life
and waste time. I cannot hope to find
the path home in this temporary land if I burden my life with possessions and
greed for more.
There are things we need. There is even space in the journey for common
wants. If, however, I am seeking things
over the love and care of others, I am practicing the most mundane and common
of idolatry. I must ponder how much is
enough and live by it. I must allow the Father
to put the desires in my heart that align with his. He will then fulfill those desires in ways
that show me his love for me.
It seems that wanting more than I need is a good check engine
light for where my heart is aligned. It
is a good way to focus on Christ and his prayer that the Father be our only
source of provision. It is why I must
keep working to simplify my life. It is the
purpose behind my pursuit of Project Tortoiseshell and why I wish to be free to
only acquire my sustenance through writing.
It is why I keep writing and preparing to have fewer things.
I must be content to have Christ alone, Sola Christi if I
am to gain any ground toward home. The rest
will be added as I delight myself in the Father and following his Son. The check engine light of wanting more is one
that can help us stop and remember the blessings we already possess, Dear
Reader. Once counted, those blessings are
always enough if we are honest.
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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