Diminished ~ Unguarded

Greetings Dear Reader,

We began with the understanding that we are diminished by the death of others.  Anger and hatred lead to murder.  We talked about Jesus’ proclamation that if we hate someone, then we have murdered them in our hearts already.

Let us then reason for a moment on what is required to not become murderers.  It seems that it all starts in our minds.  What we think becomes who we are.  How we feel is determined by how we think.  Our minds influence us so much more that we admit.  We think selfish and self-serving thoughts that turn to resentment, jealousy, anger, and hatred. 

What we fail to connect is that being unforgiving or unloving in any way is a form of selfishness.  If I do not forgive you, then I am serving my own desires and not those of the Father.  I cannot be selfish or miserly about forgiveness and love the Father with all that I am.  I must guard against the subtle selfishness of failing to forgive wrong even as it is happening to me.  On the same coin is the face of guarding against failing to love the Father and all humans.  Withholding forgiveness and love are acts that serve only my desire to be selfish.

Further, by withholding forgiveness and love, I am going against the Father’s command to love every human as he does.  In doing this I diminish the value of the lives in front of me.  This is what leads to so many crimes against humanity but we will get to that tomorrow.  What I wish to focus on for my heart today is the vital need to guard my heart against anger and hatred so that I never get to murder.

I am not angry that those who oppose Jesus and his love for them.  I feel sadness that they deny themselves the richness of love that he wishes to flood into their lives.  As I pointed out last week, Jesus does not hate anyone.  Jesus does love every human and wishes for them to find the forgiveness and life that is in that love.

Unguarded minds and hearts lead to the thinking and feelings that result in selfishness, hatred, and murder.  I must guard against anything that gives this kind of evil a foothold.  No one wakes up hating others without getting there by failing to forgive yesterday.  No one starts out selfishly failing to love without first being selfish about forgiveness.  We diminish others when we are selfish with our grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness.  Tomorrow we will apply this to the ways in which we hate and murder each other, Dear Reader. 

First, I wish to take today to meditate more deeply on my thoughts and questions about this.  It is my thinking that must change.  It is in my thoughts and questions that I must seek to follow Jesus more closely, listen to the Spirit more humbly, and love the Father more deeply.  If those are my determinations, then I will not diminish anyone.  Please ponder this with me.

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
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
Facebook      
Twitter        
Medium         
Instagram 
BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

I must guard against the subtle selfishness of failing to forgive wrong even as it is happening to me.