Greetings Dear Reader,
For decades I carried in my mind and heart the idea that it
was them versus us. When I first encountered
the Jesus that is in the Bible, those who introduced me to him, some not all,
had a very strong feeling of enmity regarding other humans. They were not evil. They were mistaken.
I was so eager in my desire to please and uneducated in my understanding of the love of the Father, that took up arms mental, spiritual, and emotional against anything that my leaders said was wrong. I heard “love the sinner and hate the sin.” That did not keep me from seeing how many in that circle did not really apply it. The loving the sinner part was only insomuch as it applied to getting them on our side.
Again, it was not everyone, but it was those who oversaw
much of my early education as to what Christians were to be. At the heart of this was an expectation that
is both unjust and unreasonable. For
example, one youth minister that I knew told me that I should not share meals
with those who did not share my new moral standards. When I asked why Jesus ate with publicans and
sinners his response was a weak “well we are not Jesus are we?”
Years later I came to see that when we are given the righteousness
of God at redemption, we too often take on self-righteousness. We feel that we must impose good and holy
standards on others and condemn them for unacceptable morality. We choose to make others feel rejected
because they do not behave like Christ-followers.
In that attitude lies the pride that drives others away from
us. My thoughts about the behavior of
others are not what shows the love and grace of the Father. They are not what reflect the love and
compassion of Jesus. In short, it is not
the place of those who guard forever to expect those who do not believe to act
like those who do believe. There are
places where we must stand against things that are wrong but we must not anticipate
that those who do not share our faith will agree.
In order to do this in love, our guardianship must be
carried out in humility and grace. It is
our responsibility to live out what we believe without diminishing for a moment
the certainty that we love those who do not share our beliefs. It seems that we must master humbly loving righteous,
holy, and good standards whilst also carrying unlimited love for those who
disagree with us. To expect those who
have not been redeemed to act like they have is to foster a lie, Dear Reader.
When I see that my standards have bled over into judgment of
those who do not share my faith, it is I that must change. I must reassert the standard of love and
grace whilst adding more humility. I
have to set aside the idea that I can anticipate that those who do not believe
have the power to follow Christ with the fullness that I possess. Until an individual reaches the place where
they are following Christ in faith, judging them is an exercise in redundant futility. After all, it is unjust to expect those who
do not possess forever to be able to guard it.
A note of gratitude: Thank you Avalon for the gift of Quotable
Star Trek by Jill Sherwin. Reading some of these lines out of context
makes for some good deep thoughts and questions
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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“It is unfair to expect Starfleet behavior from someone who has never been to the academy” Captain Janeway
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