The Hard Path ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

When we think of the hard path, we find it is paved with very pleasant things at times that are still very difficult to navigate.  We fail to consider that the cross we are asked to carry is built of love.  It is heavy and burdensome to love others when they do not love back.

Our obligation to love means that we have to count on the love of Christ to equip us to resist baser instincts.  It is not our place to revenge.  It is outside of our purview to reject, hate, or ignore the needs of others.  The path is hard because we have to do the other part of taking up the cross to follow Christ.  We have to deny ourselves. 

The path to loving others, being gracious and kind, is to deny ourselves.   It is often very difficult.  It is a narrow path filled with stones and twists.  There are perilous edges and dark passages.  It is sometimes hard to see the way which is why we must not look too far ahead.  It can feel lonely which is why we must not look at ourselves but at the needs of others. 

The beauty is that when we choose the hard path it yields beautiful moments.  It produces nights under the stars where we briefly perhaps only care for the love we can show others.  It delivers interactions where there is genuine grace, mercy, and forgiveness between you and another human.  That is when Christ appears.  It lets your honest words about your failures and darkness communicate hope to those who struggle as you struggle. 

I have to be genuine about my failings for no other purpose than to follow Christ in truth.  The benefit of that hard path is his ability then to use it for others.  The road is long and seems so difficult at times, Dear Reader.  When we choose to love Christ; to love the Father with all that we are, it is then that we can find a way to navigate the hard path.  Jesus said we are recognized by our love for each other as his followers. 

Whatever comes my way, if I look for the love of Christ and transmit that to others, I will find the way home.  Even that is not because I have earned it or done some great thing.  It is because the hard path, when navigated by the star of Christ’s love and faith, becomes paved with grace and mercy that fuels our journey.  You are always welcome to walk it with me, Dear Reader.

Mountain Tops – Second Chapter of Acts

The mountain tops are not as tall

The valleys seem to be getting small

Still, the river rolls deep inside me

Take the dreams that didn't grow

And visions that melted in the snow

Take away my laugh

Still, I'll climb the pathway home

With my hand in your hand

My life in your life

My spirit will rise

Until I see the rainbow

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

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The Hard Path ~ Faith not Flags

Greetings Dear Reader,

If you have not seen the documentary, American Gospel, I highly recommend it.  I will write more about that later but I want to use its influence on this thinking.  You know that I am very conservative in my theology.  I am also grateful for the freedoms we still enjoy as Americans.

I must, however, be honest about my nation's shortcomings as they measure against that conservative theology.  First, I should define conservative.  I do believe that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are real, that they are God, and that this is where my first allegiance aligns.  When any person or entity goes against that theology, I must meter my response so that I treat everyone involved with love and grace.  I cannot be offended if others disagree with me or act in ways that do not line up with my theology.  Ponder that, Dear Reader.  I know that I have to every day.

I must follow in faith before I wave any flag.  Remember that I work through these thoughts in my blog so that I am perfecting my faith.  It is posted here for your benefit and my accountability.  So, the question is begged of how I respond as a Christ-follower in a nation that has left behind following Christ and instead remade God in their own image.  I do not say this in judgment or anger.  I observe.

When my nation clamors to put children in cages and kill the unborn, I do not see it loving the Father and all other humans.  When we treat any class of citizen as undeserving of love and respect, we are wrong.  No matter who the enemy of your alignment is, you are required to love him or her to follow Christ.  Our failure to do this is what lies at the heart of the strife in our nation. 

I must put Christ first in every aspect of my life.  This means that I cannot agree with things that go against his command to love the Father and love all humans.  I cannot decide that someone’s wrong-doing puts them outside of that command.  I must love everyone.  This also means that when my nation does not do this, I must choose faith over flag. 

It does not mean that I rebel, revolt, or riot.  It means that I work to love everyone, agree with the issues that support that, and keep anger and outrage from the conversation.  It is a hard path because you walk against the majority on either side.  Still, no matter how I feel about the issues, I have to love everyone involved.

I was discussing this with my closest friend the other day and he reminded me of a song from 1972 by Larry Norman.  Give it a listen, Dear Reader.  See if it does not ring true in the light of following Christ and the issues we face today.  As always, I treasure your thoughts and questions.

Great American Novel – Larry Norman

I was born and raised an orphan in a land that once was free
In a land that poured its love out on the moon;
And I grew up in the shadows of your silos filled with grain,
But you never helped to fill my empty spoon.

And when I was ten you murdered law with courtroom politics,
And you learned to make a lie sound just like truth;
But I know you better now and I don't fall for all your tricks,
And you've lost the one advantage of my youth.

You kill a black man at midnight just for talking to your daughter,
Then you make his wife your mistress and you leave her without water;
And the sheet you wear upon your face is the sheet your children sleep on,
At every meal you say a prayer; you don't believe but still, you keep on.

And your money says in God we trust,
But it's against the law to pray in school;
You say we beat the Russians to the moon,
And I say you starved your children to do it.

You are far across the ocean but the war that’s not your own,
And while you're winning theirs, you're gonna lose the one at home;
Do you really think the only way to bring about the peace
Is to sacrifice your children and kill all your enemies?

The politicians all make speeches while the newsmen all take note,
And they exaggerate the issues as they shove them down our throats;
Is it really up to them whether this country sinks or floats?
Well, I wonder who would lead us if none of us would vote.

Well my phone is tapped and my lips are chapped from whispering through the fence,
You know every move I make, or is that just coincidence?
Well, you try to make my way of life a little less like jail,
If I promise to make tapes and slides and send them through the mail.

And your money says in God we trust,
But it's against the law to pray in school;
You say we beat the Russians to the moon,
And I say you starved your children to do it.

You say all men are equal, all men are brothers,
Then why are the rich more equal than others?
Don't ask me for the answer, I've only got one:
That a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son

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

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The Hard Path ~ The Quality of Mercy

Greetings Dear Reader,

When we ponder the hard path, we do not often consider mercy.  It may be that we do not think of being merciful at all.  Mercy is one of those things that we brush off or with which we refuse to engage.  In truth, it is something we should ponder daily.

I think of mercy as a three-legged stool.  The first leg is that of the mercy that I need daily from the Father.  I fail daily to love him as I should and, in his mercy, he still allows me to live, mostly be in comfort, and provides for my needs.  We do not consider enough the role that mercy plays in this. 

If we pay attention to Jesus on the matter, we are to be merciful as well.  This is the second leg of our stool.  Mercy is the other side of the coin of grace.  It is one of the hardest parts of the hard path.  It means that through love and grace we do not give someone what they deserve when we have been wronged.  We lay out mercy instead.  We forgive and do not demand restitution.  We cancel the debt and refuse to hold onto offense.  This second leg is one over which we all stumble.

The third leg is difficult as well.  We need mercy from others.  We fail and rarely understand the impact of our failures.   We do not understand why fences cannot be mended.  The fact is that every relationship can be healed if both parties are committed to love, grace, and mercy.  Offenses and their wounds cannot live in this environment.  We must humbly accept that we need the mercy of others and that we cannot demand it or control it.  We must live a life that will show others love and grace and hope that they will be merciful.

The quality of mercy is that unless we deal in love and grace always, it is a very hard path to walk.  Our pride and hurt want us to withhold mercy and feel that we deserve it always.  The hardness is that by definition, mercy is underserved.  I must realize that I do not deserve it if I have any hope of living properly in love and grace.  I must accept that all humans are in the same situation.  None of us deserves mercy yet all of us need to give it liberally. 

The offenses we collect along the way are what make the path so hard.  The failure to forgive fully is a stony obstacle.  The lack of love and grace causes us to carry anger and offense into the next day.  We are required to leave our anger in the past.  We are obligated to forgive.  Even when it is hard as diamond, we are to walk the path of mercy, Dear Reader.  I must do so with all my heart if I have any hope to love others as Jesus loves us. If I am making others beg for mercy, I am doing it wrong.  If I withhold it, I cannot claim to love others.

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

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BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

The Hard Path ~ Debts Owed

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I hurt someone, I incur a debt.  When someone hurts me, they too owe a debt.  It may be one of owing a simple apology or it may be that restitution is in order as a sign of understanding what has transpired.

When offenses are repeated, they have a cumulative impact on our hearts and minds.  It becomes apparent to us that the person causing the pain is not going to change.  Then there is the challenge of Christ’s instruction that we are to always forgive.  This becomes a hard path.  It becomes a path that is hard to walk.

No matter how heinous the offense, we are required to forgive.  I have written about and work at this often.  I must not fail to forgive.  That path when the offense is constant is very hard but I must walk it if I am to follow Christ faithfully.  I have failed at this before and likely will again.  That, however, is the beauty of forgiveness.   The moment I realize that I am thinking, feeling, or acting in an unforgiving way, I can choose the hard path.

It is the hard path that leads home in this instance.  When we pray for forgiveness in the model that Jesus taught, it is conditional.  It is measured in accordance with our willingness to forgive.  Then again, it is not.  We are forgiven by the Father far more than we are able to forgive.  He chose the hard path to extend forgiveness to us.  The path to forgiveness was the Son walking to the crucifixion.  It was watching his own creation reject him, curse him, and kill him.

When Christ asks me to follow him on the hard path of forgiveness, he knows what he is asking of us.  If he forgives me; cancels my debt, how can I not forgive the debts owed me.  When I choose the hard path of forgiveness, I choose the path of love.  When I do, I am assured that my burden on the path will be lighter. 

It does not make sense to our minds to forgive and yet it is the hard path that leads to something better at the end.  Eventually, forgiveness will win out.  I do not want to be one who failed to be a part of that.  I want to always choose the path of forgiveness when it is hard or easy, Dear Reader.  I want to find a way for us to walk it together in love and grace.  It is where we can find our joy together.

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

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Medium         Instagram 

BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/  

The Hard Path ~ Being Real

Greetings Dear Reader,

In a society where we are supposed to be in the know, virtue signal, and face judgment for being politically incorrect, it is hard to be genuine.  The pastor at the church I currently attend observed that I am who I am and people can take it or leave it.  Given my struggles with being this way, I heard it as a compliment.  Shedding our pretenses is a hard path.

We build our external face so that others see us the way that we think will make us acceptable.  When we begin to deal genuinely with who we are in our hearts, we will not necessarily please those around us.  When we stand for only what will bring us closer to Christ, we will make others uncomfortable.  It is difficult for others to believe that we are going to be different.  Even when they do, they are unsure how to respond to it.

Being genuine is a hard path not only because of the risk but also due to the vigilance required.   We must capture every thought and filter it through love and grace.  We must not allow offense and anger to have lease.  It is standing constant sentry over our thoughts that allow us to be our genuine selves.  We must be honest internally if we are to live genuinely with others.

This also means that we let go of expectations hold for others and obligations others owe to us.  It means that we walk through each day allowing things to unfold as they will and responding with genuine love.   We root out the things that are dark and unloving.  We think well of every situation from the perspective of loving the Father with all that we are.  In this we find the freedom to be who we are created to be by loving as he loves. 

The hard path is to be real.  I must, however, walk it so that I can love the way that is good and right.  I must allow the difficulty to push me forward, onward.  It is hard but will yield what is right and good eventually.  It is through faith and grace that I find the power to walk the hard road of being genuine, Dear Reader.   We will not always find it pleasant to be so but we will become better at it if we keep walking the hard path.  That is the point of the journey, to walk the hard road in love so that when the transition comes, we are more ready to make it.

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

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Medium         Instagram 

BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

The Hard Path ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

The path we travel has both easy and hard days.  We want the easy days and avoid the hard ones when we can.  We make choices and sometimes the consequences of our choices are a hard path. 

It is true that we do not wish to walk the hard path.  It is real that the hard path is painful and trying.  Still, there are times when the only way out is through.  There are circumstances where taking the hard path is the only way home.  It is the only way out of the darkness.

This does not mean that we are noble or good.  It means that we do what we must to navigate the way to that which is good.  We avoid the hard path because it will hurt.  So often, the hard path sounds like a platitude; “just trust the Lord,” they say.   It is not a lie just because it sounds like placation.  It is part of what makes the path hard.  It is what pushes us toward the path of least resistance.

What I wish to explore is how we face a hard path and choose it.  I want to always choose what is right and good even if it is difficult.  My desire is to follow the path the Christ has for me even when it is not where I wish to go or when it is filled with pain.  I do not wish the pain of truths I dislike or consequences I have earned but if that is where Christ leads that is where I must follow.

I would value your company as I explore this, Dear Reader.  It seems that when we travel together it is easier to follow the path I must because I want to do what is best for both of us.  Mostly, I want to follow any path necessary to deepen my faith in and love for Jesus.  I wish to do whatever is necessary to love the Father with all that I am.  In this, I ask you to join me.  We are better together.

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/ 

Old Sins Cast Long Shadows

Greetings Dear Reader,

I heard this phrase in a movie recently and began to search for it origin.  My research revealed that it is connected to Numbers 14:18 (NIV) “The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

This triggered some thinking on how my past failures impact others beyond me.  I can see clearly how my failure at my first marriage has had a lifelong impact on my children.  Choices I have made outside of Christ still echo in my world. 

I think we do a poor job distinguishing between forgiveness and consequences.  God always forgives when we acknowledge our sin.  That does not me that he removes the natural consequences from them.    Out sin has consequences that we must often endure.  Sometimes in his mercy we are not made to endure them. 

As the years flow through the glass I see more clearly how my sin has impacted others.   I see how my wrong choices have done damage beyond me.  I cannot waste time and effort on regret.  I must instead work to do good for others.  I must avoid repeating the same sins and walk in faith that the Father will bring all things to good.

Some days the regret wishes to rule me.  It wish to force me into inactivity through failure to move.  It is in the moving; the following that I can right some of the wrongs.  I can be honest about how I have failed and help others learn from my errors. 

What I must not do is let past sin keep me from doing my best to do good now.  If it means that I must be more humble and more gentle then that is what I must do.  If I need to earn the right to be heard over and over aging then I will.  I will keep moving.  I will keep following.  How about you Dear Reader?  Are you willing to move instead of being mired in the past darkness?  I will not let the long shadows of old sin keep me from bearing the Light.

I Dare you to Move – Switchfoot

Welcome to the planet

Welcome to existence

Everyone's here

Everyone's here

Everybody's watching you now

Everybody waits for you now

What happens next?

What happens next?

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift

Yourself up off by the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout

Welcome to resistance

The tension is here

The tension is here

Between who you are

And who you could be

Between how it is

And how it should be yeah

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift

Yourself up off by the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened

Maybe redemption has stories to tell

Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell

Where can you run to escape from yourself?

Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?

Salvation is here

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself

To lift yourself up off by the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened

Today never happened

Today never happened before

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 home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)