Greetings Dear Reader,
When Jesus speaks of Gnats and Camels, the metaphoric use of
the gnats was that we strain or choke over things that we should not. I would say that we are experts at this. We gag on things that do not matter to God.
The examples I would put forth are in many areas of faith
and following. I will not belabor you
with them all. Still, it must be said
that since we strain on these gnats, you may wish to have some water handy.
An example that comes to mind is the way in which we argue about the theology surrounding redemption. Redemption is vital but as long as I believe in faith, does it really matter if it is because I chose to believe or God chose me for belief? We strain and argue over how God does things. God asks us to love him, love each other, and follow his Son in faith.
Another gnat on which we strain is how we worship. I have written a great deal about this in
sorting out how I worship. We actually
allow division in the body of believers over methods of worship. We take phrases out of Scripture and use them
to justify that our method of worship is the “right” one. All that we do to argue over this detracts
from the command to worship the Father will all that we do. Gnats and Camels abound in this area.
The idea that it is wrong to wear clothing of a certain type
seems to be an uneven hem. The only
thing that we see in the Bible about what to wear is that we are to be modest
and humble. Everything else is a cloud
of gnats. Still, there are those who
assign gender roles to pants. They even
insist that clothing required for a situation defines what gender may engage in
that activity. Having worn both kilt and
cassock, I can attest to the difficulty of wearing dresses for everything. We also need to realize then dresses NEED
pockets, always.
I realize that I am treating this lightly. It is because we really need to get over ourselves
when it comes to majoring on the minors.
In my mind, I try to eliminate everything that does not directly trace
to the Father’s command love. I find plenty
of guidance in the Epistles as to some of the practical matters of faith and
following. I have a weakness in trying
to build a swarm of gnats around the truth; a hedge around the Law if you will. I must swat them away so that the only thing
that remains are ways of showing the Father's love to you, Dear Reader.
I will likely never perfect this until I have been
perfected. There are still gnats whose
strains please me. I will fight it but I
will sometimes fail. It is in those
times that grace matters and love must win.
The only thing that clears the strain is tracing my thoughts back to
seeing Christ and his love in the moment of that strain. We can enjoy each other more fully if we
focus on this, Dear Reader.
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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