IF – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

We have choices to make.  The presidential election is coming and both of the primary choices bother me greatly.  It is, however, and if we must face.  Those who follow Christ are facing a world where their faith will be tested.

The big IF is this: IF I believe that Christ is the answer to the world’s ills then I must follow with all my heart.  I must be an example of grace and kindness in all things.   I know I will fail but I must work to become better at following with every if.

I am in many ways an idealist.  Imagine with me for a moment the biggest IF.   IF Christ followers set aside their differences and “self” what could we accomplish?  IF we lived the commands to love God and each other what could we do?  The world needs selfless love and compassion more than ever. 

IF we abandon our political and social differences and work only to show the love of Christ we can make a difference in the world.  IF we abandon sects for unity we can become a force that gently lovingly changes the world.  IF we give eternal value to every life then we can change things.

I cannot make the world do this.  I can strive every day to become this.  How about you 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 home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

IF – If We Valued All Life

Greetings Dear Reader,

I will ask forgiveness in advance if this post treads on your political or social toes in any way Dear Reader.  Please remember that I consider things in here for my own growth and reasoning.   If you gain anything from my musings then you are welcome to it.

The big IF here is simple.  Do we have a hard line that every human life matters?  I do not think we do.  There are too many issues that involve the sanctity of human life over which we argue.  If any human life matters then all human life matters.  This is where many will delve into situational ethics. 

In light of that proposition I need to think honestly about several issues.

Healthcare:  

IF I believe that all human lives matter then I will not be satisfied with anyone being denied comprehensive healthcare no matter their income or station.  Discussions over pre-existing conditions, level of income, and systems of access are all conversations that lead to saying that some lives matter more than others.  IF I claim to follow Christ then I must want the best possible care for everyone without footnote.

Black Lives Matter:

We still have racial issues in the nation.  To deny this is to be willingly ignorant.   Every side of the discussion had a bias toward a race or races.  Instead of debating the merits or demerits of which race deserves better treatment we should be pondering what we can do from making anyone feel this way.  IF we truly care about all humans then someone of any colour needs to feel that his colour will not impact his treatment.

Abortion:

Understand that I believe that legal safe abortions are a form of genocide.  One can give all the situational arguments one wishes.  IF we are going to say that any life matters then the most defenseless must not be murdered in the name of choice.  I believe there is a price to pay for this genocide.  We have wiped out, conservatively, 3.1 BILLION years of life through “legal” abortion.  If there is even a slight possibility that life begins at conception then we are drowning in the blood of the innocent.    

There are so many others ways in which we treat human life as disposable.  IF we were to truly value all lives then we would love each other and do all that we can to sustain life.  It is my absolute obligation as a Christ follower to value every life in every situation.  In order for this to work we have to let go of so much selfishness and hate.  To do less than value every life is to contradict the basics of my faith and following.

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 ͡°)

IF – If we Use Clear Language

Greetings Dear Reader,

One of the things that occurs over time is that language loses the power to communicate.  We laugh at the TV ads from the 1960’s because of the way in which they portray our culture.  Those ads, however, are an excellent example of what communicated at the time.

It is also possible for language to be overused or misused and lose its power.  Using the word “sin” as a hammer of condemnation and shame has caused it to lose its power to show us our condition and need.  Words have inherent natural power that if abused will become dull to the hearing of the victims of the abuse.

The words we use matter far more than we realize.  The words we choose must be words we intend.  Christ followers are accountable for even their idle words.  They are responsible to communicate the love and grace of the Father.  The words we choose are to represent truth and light.

Any words that communicate hatred or judgement from us are not the worlds of Christ.  When we misrepresent Christ we are using God for our own purposes.  We use language to misrepresent who God is and then are surprised when people do not acknowledge God.

We are guilty of failure to love through our words.  I cannot represent the Living Word, Jesus if my words do not show clearly the love of Christ in all things.  I fail at times to do this.  When I do I must communicate clearly that I am wrong and seek the forgiveness of those my words harm.  It is my obligation not to diminish the words of the Gospel through my own words.

The Final Word – Michael Card

You and me we use so very many clumsy words.

The noise of what we often say is not worth being heard.

When the Father's wisdom wanted to communicate His love,

He spoke it in one final perfect Word.

He spoke the incarnation, and then so was born a Son.

His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.

He spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.

And so was born a baby who would die to make it mine.

And so the Father's fondest thought became flesh and bone.

He spoke the living luminous word, at once His will was done.

And so the transformation that in man had been unheard,

Took place in God the Father as he spoke that final Word.

He spoke the incarnation, and then so was born a Son.

His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.

He spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.

And so was born a baby who would die to make it mine.

And so the Light became alive and manna became Man.

Eternity stepped into time so we could understand.

He spoke the incarnation, and then so was born a Son.

His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.

He spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.

And so was born a baby who would die to make it mine.

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 ͡°)

IF – If we Unite in Christ

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I pondered the basics of following Christ it occurred to not for the first time that aside from failing to love we have another great failing.  We are divided against ourselves over so many things that do not matter.  We are so divided that we lose opportunity to work together for the greater good.

We divide over things such as form of worship and how to dress.  We dispute minor aspects of theology to the point that we do not speak to each other.  We argue over matters to which there is no conclusive answer.    We are not united in Christ except for pretense and this limits our ability to show Christ to others.

When I first chose to follow Christ those who led me to the journey immediately began to instruct me as to what other followers were unacceptable.  I was taught to see the differences as acceptable reasons to revile and reject them.  This is so far from the expectation of Christ.  Jesus wants us to be evidenced by love and unity in his service.  He does not wish us to divide and argue over things that do not natter.

Again we come to the big IF.  What could we do in the world if we put away our prideful presumptive petulance and instead saw our duty to love and charity?   If we are to truly impact the world then it does not matter how we baptize or the type bread we use for communion.

IF I am to follow Christ then I must be careful to limit my disagreements with my fellow travelers to those matters that actually matter.   If I allow division over minor things then I diminish the impact of the Gospel and that is a grave matter indeed.  I do not find my hope in how one worships but in the act of worship.   I must find my bonds of community and unity in Christ and his commands. 

This is the big IF.  What could we do IF we only served the Gospel?  We are free in Christ and may follow with our full hearts.  IF we set aside the trivial things that divide us then used those hearts to share all that Christ we could make a true difference.

That is my duty to Christ.  Even if no one else takes it up it is my obligation.  It would be prideful to think that no one does but it is my duty in any event.  It is my obligation to live the dream of unity in Christ even if no one else does.

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 ͡°)

IF – If we Follow the Great Commands

Greetings Dear Reader,

One of the things that I return to when there is trouble is the place Christ followers as supposed to land on every issue.  The commands are simple:

• Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind
• Love your neighbor
• Love your enemy

These simple commands are to be our guide in all we do in following Christ.  It is in these that we find the filter through which we interpret all other things.  Here is the problem.  We do not apply this vital truth to all that we undertake.

The simple two-sided coin is whether we respond to every situation in love or not.  Any insult, affront, or slight can be met with love.  Any situation can be responded to with love.  We choose.

Now the great “IF” here is the change that could be wrought if Christ followers responded as one with love to EVERY situation.  No matter what I think personally about any social issue I must respond to the needs surrounding it with love.  No matter where I land on any moral debate I must respond to the situation in love.  No matter what my politics I must treat the opposition with love.

Let that settle in for a moment.  As a Christ follower everyone may ask me the same question in every action:  “Where is the love?”   If I cannot show it then it may not be there.  Jesus made it clear, “Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other.”

The big IF I posit is what the world would look like if every individual who claims to follow Christ put this forward is his or her benchmark.  Imagine the impact IF we approached every social and political conversation with love.  In every situation, anyone who claims Christ should not have to answer the question.  It should be obvious where the love is.  On this should rest every other discussion.

Where is the Love – Black Eyed Peas

What's wrong with the world, mama

People livin' like they ain't got no mamas

I think the whole world addicted to the drama

Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma

Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism

But we still got terrorists here livin'

In the USA, the big CIA

The Bloods and the Crips and the KKK

But if you only have love for your own race

Then you only leave space to discriminate

And to discriminate only generates hate

And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah

Madness is what you demonstrate

And that's exactly how anger works and operates

Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight

Take control of your mind and meditate

Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin'

Children hurt and you hear them cryin'

Can you practice what you preach?

Or would you turn the other cheek?

Father, Father, Father help us

Send some guidance from above

'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love) [2x]

Where is the love, the love, the love

It just ain't the same, old ways have changed

New days are strange, is the world insane?

If love and peace are so strong

Why are there pieces of love that don't belong?

Nations droppin' bombs

Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones

With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young

So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone

So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong

In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in

Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends

Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother

A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover

The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug

If you never know truth then you never know love

Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)

Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)

Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'

Children hurt and you hear them cryin'

Can you practice what you preach?

Or would you turn the other cheek?

Father, Father, Father help us

Send some guidance from above

'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)? [6x]

Where is the love, the love, the love?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder

As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder

Most of us only care about money makin'

Selfishness got us followin' the wrong direction

Wrong information always shown by the media

Negative images is the main criteria

Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria

Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema

Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity

Whatever happened to the fairness and equality

Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity

Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down

There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under

Gotta keep my faith alive 'til love is found

Now ask yourself

Where is the love? [4x]

Father, Father, Father, help us

Send some guidance from above

'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love?

Sing with me y'all:

One world, one world (We only got)

One world, one world (That's all we got)

One world, one world

And something's wrong with it (Yeah)

Something's wrong with it (Yeah)

Something's wrong with the wo-wo-world, yeah

We only got

(One world, one world)

That's all we got

(One world, one world)

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 ͡°)

IF – The “IF then” Falsehood

Greetings Dear Reader,

I hear this too often for it to be complacent about it.  I have had to learn that it is a smoke screen and not to be blinded to love and compassion by it.  It is false test that will never yield the requested but not truly required results.

The test comes in form of statements concerning what God would or would not do:

• If God exists then he would ….
• If God loves us then he would not allow…
• If there is a God then why does he not…

These series of ifs arise from a complete misunderstanding of how we approach God.  He never attempts to prove that he exits or that he is God.  He never subjects himself to our demands.  He insists that we approach him in faith.  He insists that we seek him with an honest and open heart. 

I find that the aforementioned ifs are often asked in a spirit of unbelief or dissatisfaction with how the world unfolds.  We are not in a position to make demands of God.  We are in need of him.  We are dependent upon him whether we wish it or not.

When I struggled with faith I often asked for proof of God’s existence.  I often demanded that he bend the world to my will.  I often accused him of failing to handle things as I should like them.

We fail to see who God is when we proffer these ifs.  We fail see that his very nature precludes them.  We need to approach him with a different set of ifs:

• If God exists then what does he wish from me?
• If God loves me then how should I respond to that love?
• If I seek him with all my heart what will I find?

The “:if then” of these questions I have pursued for four decades.  I have found that they yield answers that guide and often satisfy.  When I fail at them I find my mind reverting to demanding and faithless questions.  I must always return to the best of the ifs.  God promises, “IF you seek me with all your heart THEN you will find 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 home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

IF – If I am Wrong

Greetings Dear Reader,

Pascal’s Wager is a philosophical argument that humans all bet their lives on the existence or non-existence of God.  Pascal suggests that that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas they stand to receive infinite gains and avoid infinite losses. (Wikipedia)

I have chosen to bet that God exists.  I have chosen to accept all that this belief requires of me.  I do not always succeed in following Christ as I should be I seek to do so daily.  I long to succeed in following every moment.  The binary choice of if I will or will not follow is one I made 42 years ago.  The binary choice in each moment is to do the same.

I choose in the moment if I will be loving or unloving, kind or unkind, forgiving or unforgiving.   I choose in the moment if I will up my wager that God is there and that Christ is all he claims to be for his followers and for the world.  So, Dear Reader, this begs the question, “what if I am wrong?”

If the binary outcome is that there is no God and this is all there is then what have I gained.  I have gained a life of loving others.  I have gained a life of kindness and support of others.  I have gained the satisfaction of being good to all that I can. 

That is enough for me.  I do not believe that I am wrong but if I am then  I have lost nothing. 

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 ͡°)

IF- Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

One of my favorite lines from the movie Aladdin is when Jeanie refers to the power of a Djinn; “Phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty living space.”   When I ponder the word “if” I think  of its place in things.  It is an Itty bitty word with phenomenal cosmic consequences. 

One of the great things we do with it is try to reason through the past.  This is dangerous.  If when reflected on the past can lead to dangerous regret and empty misgivings.  We cannot change the past with “if I had…”.   We cannot alter what has been with if. 

When focused on the future this small word has the power to create so many binary choices.  Remember that I believe that most things are binary, black and white, true or false.  You will either agree or disagree (that is a binary choice).   Most of life is a series of “if then” situations. 

Most of the great questions of the universe are balanced on an “if”.   As I strive to follow Christ I must measure many of these if questions.  Remember that as I write these things I am measuring what is right for me as a Christ follower.  You Dear Reader are welcome in the conversation because I love you and value you.  As always I welcome your thoughts and questions.  Walk with me please; I need the company.

IF - Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, 

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, 

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: 

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster 

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken 

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, 

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 

And lose, and start again at your beginnings 

    And never breathe a word about your loss; 

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you 

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, 

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, 

    If all men count with you, but none too much; 

If you can fill the unforgiving minute 

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my 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 home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Second Thoughts – The Batter Swings

Greetings Dear Reader,

Sometimes I will end the day with thoughts that are important to get out.  Usually I just write them and put them in my journal folder.  I have chosen that on occasion I will share them with you Dear Reader.

When I attended my first minor league game of the year the temperature was in the forties.  I sat bundled in a winter coat whilst our local team played an excellent game.  I will take my Grandson’s to their first game of the season tomorrow night.

They love going to the games with me although they do not yet share my love for baseball.  That may come in time.   Amidst the changes occurring in my life baseball is a constant.  With its continuous binary moments baseball is constantly shifting and changing.  In that constant change is the stability of is the constant in the chaos.  Every choice yields either success of failure.  Every opportunity missed by one team is one gained by the other. 

The baseball diamond is a battlefield with no quarter or ties.  Somebody will win.  You do not need to win every skirmish to win the battle.  You do not need to win every battle to win the war.  You do have to keep moving forward.  Wins must outnumber losses.  The past is only standings and statistics.  It is the next moment that matters.  It is the continuous cycle of binary moments that carries one to the pennant.

I am supposed to live in every one of those moments choosing to have faith and follow.  Even when I am down in the count I am never down for the count.  I need to stay in box, focus, and wait for my pitch.  I don’t know when it is coming but I know that it will.  My job is to be ready.

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 ͡°)