Loving My Enemies – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

So who hates us Dear Reader?  Who wants to see us dead?  Are there people who wish to harm you physically or socially?  Since we are not allowed to declare others as our enemy we can only consider those who self-identify as such to be our enemies.

We are left to choose how we will treat those who treat us with contempt or hatred.  We are commanded to love our enemies.  Putting hands and feet on this requires both faith and will.  It demands that we go beyond passive forgiveness and grace. 

We must not resist an enemy but again that is not enough.  We must seek their well-being in prayer and action.  We must seek peace and if necessary make provision for their needs.  We must go beyond the human response and whenever we can embrace the divine one.

I must be ever kinder.  I must be more loving.  I must assure that all my actions move toward grace and peace.  There is no argument worth harming another.  There is no cause for which killing is the right answer.  I know that others will present circumstances where the human response seems logical or right.

I posit this:  what if as one Christ followers obeyed the command to pray for our enemies.  What are the possibilities?  Do we really believe that the Father will intervene?  As with all things it seems that loving our enemies becomes a matter of faith.  I welcome your thoughts 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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Be Perfect

Greetings Dear Reader,

Jesus ends the discussion with a reminder that we are to be perfect.   It seems that loving our enemies the way the Father wishes us to is to find completeness.  We are the most like him when we love our enemies. 

We cannot be perfect.  We are flawed and fallen.   We can constantly perfect our responses and actions to reflect love for anyone in our path.  The path or the journey back to the Father is always best defined by how we love others. 

It is not that we can be perfect like the Father.  Jesus wants us to see all things we do in light of the Father’s perfection.  The standard is the Father.  The truth is that as we all move back toward the Father we gain cohesion in the journey by loving others.   

That which perfects us is acting out of love.  That which makes us great is not power or possessions.  It is our love for each other.   It is our sacrifice and endurance in the name of love. What we need to collect is not enemies but perfected love.

I must refine my love of others.  I must refine my ability to show love to others no matter what the cost.  It is in this that I can show my faith and following.  How about your Dear Reader?  Will you take up the challenge?  Will you crush barriers with unconditional love of others?  Together we can accomplish much.

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Easy Love

Greetings Dear Reader,

Jesus asks us about those that already love us.  He makes it clear that even tax collectors love those who love them.  We see the struggles that exist between those who already love each other.  We see how difficult to live out grace and kindness to those who love us at times.

I know that I struggle with being loving at times.  The point, however, is that we should not expect to be rewarded for loving those who already love us.  This is a common human reaction.   Loving our enemies is something more than that.

It is never enough for me to repay good things in kind.  I must always escalate.  I must always look for new ways to show love and compassion.  I must never be satisfied with things being good enough.  It is never enough to love those who love me.  I must make the prime mover of all that I do love.

It is not enough to love those who love me.  I must do everything out of love even when it involves my enemies.  Even if I struggle with loving an enemy I must obey out of love for the Father.  How about you Dear Reader?  Any thoughts on better ways to love those who do not love you?  I would value them greatly.

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Equal Treatment Under Grace

Greetings Dear Reader,

After Jesus asks us to remember who our Father is he points out that the Father deals with all humans equally.  He sends the rain on everyone.  He sends the sun as well.  When we fail to acknowledge how dependent we are on the Father then we fail to see the breadth and depth of his provision.

It is in this recognition of provision that we see that we need to love everyone equally from the perspective of love for our fellow humans.  Whatever common provision we have is to be seen as a gift from the Father.  He also gives us the privilege of being able to love others. 

That love is designed to be unconditional and liberally given.  It is intended to be a benchmark of our faith and following.  It is intended to be our banner.  When we withhold love from anyone we forget the face of our Father.  We fail to be what we are created to be as his Children.

I must never forget that all that I have is a gift from the Father.  I must remember just how much I need love.  How can I fail to gift the same to others freely and without hesitation?  It is in showing love to others without consideration for who or what they may be that I can learn just how much the Father endures to be loving to me.

This extends to those who hate me.  It includes those who wish me harm and death.  Even now I have to fight the list of exceptions that my mind wishes to conjure.  My nature wishes me to make exception for the extreme and the personal.   Neither are listed in Christ’s command.  I must let love fall on the just and the unjust. 

Friends, family, neighbors, strangers, barbarians, aliens, and enemies:  I must love them all.  How about you Dear Reader?  Who do you need to love more fully?  Until I see the rain falling only on the just it must be this way.  When I do see the rain falling on those who “deserve” it I will have to remember who to ask for some water.

All Good Gifts – Godspell

We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land..

But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand..

He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain...

The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain...

All good gifts around us

Are sent from Heaven above

Then thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love...

We thank thee then, O Father, for all things bright and good,

The seedtime and the harvest, our life, our health, our food,

No gifts have we to offer for all thy love imparts

But that which thou desirest, our humble thankful hearts!

All good gifts around us

Are sent from Heaven above..

Then thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love..

I really wanna thank you Lord!

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Living our Lineage

Greetings Dear Reader,

In the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King when Roland speaks of doing something wrong he refers to his lineage.   He speaks that those who do wrong have “forgotten the face of their father.”

One of the sub-themes that is a constant in following Christ is the benchmark of faith.  The benchmark is love.   Because we are to be recognized by our love for one another we are required to do so as the Father would. 

When we obey the command to love our enemies we are giving evidence that we are children of the Father.  It is vital that we consider how much the Father loves us.  If we withhold the possibility that he loves even what we consider the vilest humans then we do not understand him properly. 

Jesus made it clear that we are to be recognized as his followers by our love for each other.  That love is to extend to everyone.  That love is to be unconditional and sacrificial.  This is the example that the Father sets.   This is the example that Christ gives.

In living out love for our enemies we evidence that we are children of the Father.  How about your Dear Reader?  What are your thoughts on this?  How do we love our enemies?

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Cloaks, Miles, and Turning Cheeks

Greetings Dear Reader,

So Jesus has been clear concerning the nature of his command to love an enemy.  We need to remember that we have entered the conversation in the midst of things.  This teaching is part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus expressed the core of how we should live as his followers through example.

Other instructions have already been given that lead to the requirement to love our enemies.  During this time a Roman soldier could conscript someone to carry his pack a mile outside the city.  Jesus is telling us to carry our enemies’ burdens further than required.  We are to go from requirement to giving.  Imagine the impact on a soldier when you ask him to allow you to carry your pack further and in exchange tell you about his home.  If we seek to understand people with a pure heart they will begin to understand Christ.

In our litigious society Jesus’ statement bout law suits is a bit alarming.  He instructs that if someone sues us for our cloak we are to give him our coat as well.  The components of this seem foolish to us.  They require us to remember that all we have is a gift from the Father and it will not hurt us to give.  Giving is always to be preferred over strife with someone.   This command reminds us also that people are much more important than possessions. 

So an enemy may compel us to labor for him.  He may go after our possessions.  He may even strike us in the face.  It is in that moment that we choose where we stand.  Violence against us does not have to breed more violence.  We cannot love an enemy if we are punching him in the face.  If someone hits me I am to offer him a second opportunity.  I am not supposed to fight back.

I think what we fail to see is that the spirit of this is extends to all interactions.  We should not be greedy.  We should help when asked with more than the required help.  We must not argue and strive.  We must indulge in treating others with lesser regard. 

If I am to truly love my enemy then his needs are important.  His demands for material things must be respected.  His aggression must be met with peace.  There is no alternative if I wish to be seen as a follower of Christ.   The second mile is always the one where we see the truth in the teaching.   I wonder Dear Reader if we really have the faith to walk it.  What do you think?

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Extreme Condition Three

Greetings Dear Reader,

Yes there is a third extreme condition.   Jesus also insists that I pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.  Prayer for others is simple enough.  It is asking the Father to work on behalf of others.  It is the kind of person he wishes for us pray that is challenging.

We need to unpack “despitefully use” and “persecute” if we want to understand the extremity of the condition.  It is in this that we find the need to be truly loving to obey the command.

Despitefully Use:

We translate this Greek word into two words in order to get is sense.  The meanings are complex:

1) to insult

2) to treat abusively, use despitefully

3) to revile

4) in a forensic sense, to accuse falsely

5) to threaten

Persecute:

The assumption of hostility is included in this definition.

1) to make to run or flee, put to flight, drive away

2) to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after, to press on: figuratively of one who in a race runs swiftly to reach the goal, to pursue (in a hostile manner)

3) in any way whatever to harass, trouble, molest one, to persecute, to be mistreated, suffer persecution on account of something

So Jesus is asking us to pray for, in a loving way, those who insult, revile, threaten, and falsely accuse us.  Furthermore, we are to do the same for those who actively persecute us.  We have enemies who wish to destroy us.  They are both internal and external.  They wish to harass, harm, and even kill us because of our faith.  

Many Christ followers do not understand what persecution is.  Sadly some do.  When Jesus was speaking he addressed people under Roman rule.  They did understand and knew the extreme nature of what he asks.

It is in this command that we find the necessity to forgive moment by moment so that we can pray for our enemies.  We must live in a constant state of grace toward them.  If Jesus is asking us to pray for those who would destroy us, and he is, how can we not do the same for those who persecute us politically or socially?

We must respond to every insult, accusation, and attack in the same way.  We must pray for those who revile us.  We must ask the Father to care for those who would destroy us.  I must infer from this that I must receive every form of negative engagement with love for those engaging me.  

In a world where following Christ is unpopular I must prove that I will love those who are my enemies no matter what the cost.  How about you Dear Reader?  Are you asking the Father to work in the lives of your enemies?   In pondering this extreme I realize that I must up my game here.  I must more actively pursue the Father on behalf of others who have rejected and even mock him.  I have commands yet to keep and prayers to make before I sleep.

As always I treasure your thoughts.

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Extreme Condition Two

Greetings Dear Reader,

The second extreme condition is that we are to do good to those that hate us.   I know that here are people that hate me.  They are few but they exist.   I have a philosophy for this but before I get to that I would unpack what “do good”: means in this context and what hatred is as well.

First let us look at what Jesus means to do good:

1) of good constitution or nature

2) useful, salutary

3) good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy

4) excellent, distinguished

5) upright, honourable

Once again we must notice that this is not just holding the door for someone.  Our makeup must be geared toward doing what is good toward those who hate us.  We must be pleasant, agreeable, useful, joyful, and happy toward them.  We must act in an upright and honourable way toward them.  We even have to say hello.  We cannot ignore them. 

So how do we identify those who hate us?  This is usually quite easy.  The word used here refers to both those who pursue us with loathing and those who detest us from afar.  It is the active nature of loving our enemies that we must encompass hatred in good.

Jesus makes it clear that my offerings to the Father are not as important as peace with those who hate me.   I must actively be good to those who hate me.  I must see their needs and meet them where I can.  The barrier of hatred cannot withstand the type of love that Christ commands.

My Grandfather, when I would speak of those who disliked me would quote the following.  If I make it a life pattern it truly does work. 

He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic , rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle and took him in. – Edwin Markham 

How about you Dear Reader?  I know that I must do whatever it takes to do good to my enemies.   Do you have any thoughts on making this practical?

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Extreme Condition One

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I said yesterday the type of love your enemies we are discussing is active rather than passive.  We need to put hands and feet on the verb.  The first extreme condition that Jesus suggests is that we bless those who curse us.  First I would like to offer and extreme translation of this.

Bless:

1) to praise, celebrate with praises

2) to invoke blessings

3) to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers

3a) to ask God’s blessing on a thing

3b) pray God to bless it to one’s use

3c) pronounce a consecratory blessing on

4) of God

4a) to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on

4b) favored of God, blessed

 

 Curse:

1) to curse

2) to wish for doom

3) to imprecate evil upon

So an extreme translation of this facet of love your enemies would be:  Praise and celebrate, invoke blessings upon, and consecrate with solemn prayer by asking God’s blessing those who curse you, wish for your doom, or imprecate evil upon you.

So when the terrorists of the world scream for our death and destruction we are to pray for God to bless them and we are to consecrate them to God.  Let that settle in for a moment.  When people mock us for following Christ we should find what is good about them and acknowledge it.  Maybe we should ask them to dinner.  We should surely ask the Father to consecrate them to his own purposes. 

So in the everyday my obligation is to show love to those who declare themselves my enemies by both being a blessing to them and by asking the Father to make them his special projects.  I must not discriminate in kindness and compassion.   The more someone hates me the more I must love him.  

There is no way out of this.  Even now my mind wishes to invoke some circumstantial reasoning wherein I justify cursing instead of blessing.   Even Jesus brother James made it clear that we cannot both bless and curse and be honest followers of Christ.  I must love to the extreme. 

There is more.  Jesus demands all of us and tomorrow I will dive a bit deeper.  How about you Dear Reader?  Are you still with me?  I value your company as I seek to find the real meaning of “Love your enemies”.  Please share your thoughts 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 home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Loving My Enemies – What is Love?

Greetings Dear Reader,

I will avoid the temptation to lighten the mood with a nineties dance hit.   It is vital, however, that if we are going to love our enemies that we understand what king of love Jesus is commanding.  This particular word has some very clear meaning as it relates to humans.

Thayer defines this word as “to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly.”  So when Jesus tells us to love our enemies he is saying that we need to think this way about anyone who self-identifies as an enemy.  This makes most of our natural responses to attack and hatred untenable.  The desire to strike back and gain vengeance is not in line with a command to love dearly.

The first obvious advantage of this is that one cannot argue with someone who will not participate in the argument.   One cannot hate and love at the same time.  One cannot avenge out of love.  One cannot kill out of love.  War is never an act of love.

This is only the tip of the requirement.  It is not enough to have the mind to love an enemy.  One must remember that this word is a verb.  It requires action.   It is not enough to feel love for one’s enemies.   One must welcome and entertain.  One must participate in actively being good to those who call us enemy.

Not I need to meddle a bit.   Think about who you consider an enemy on a personal level.  How do we show that person active living love?  What about our national enemies?  How do we assure that we are showing them love?  I said this was going to be a deep dive.  Over the next couple of days we will look at putting hands on feet on this command to love our enemies dearly.

The point is that I must steel my heart to do so.  I must live a life that loves my enemies actively.  I must consider how to be active in showing my enemies that I do love them no matter what barriers they construct.  I truly believe that there is no force more powerful in the universe than love.  Perhaps if I practice employing it everywhere with everyone it will be easier when I encounter an enemy.

How about you Dear Reader?  What are your thoughts?

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Who is my Enemy?

Greetings Dear Reader,

There is an easy answer to this.  From that easy answer flows a complexity that would take a lifetime to unpack.  I will begin with the simple and move to the complex but this post will not last a lifetime.  So who is my enemy? 

The simple answer is that anyone who is the enemy of God is my enemy.   Even in that simple statement I find an untenable position.  There are those who act as enemies of God whom I love dearly.   I refuse to see them as an enemy.   In fact a primary meaning of the word enemy is anyone who is at opposition with God.

Some people that I love do not love God.   They are not my enemies.   From time to time some of them even mock God.   This hurts me.  Most of them will not tolerate the mocking of things they value.  That, however, is not my focus here.   Again I refuse to see these individuals as enemies.  So I am still left with the question of who is my enemy.

There are those who declare that they are my enemy simple because I follow Christ.  I suppose if anyone intentionally declares that he or she is my enemy he or she is.  This narrows the field and increases my number of enemies greatly.  There are those who hate God enough that they are enemies of anyone who believes.  There are those who will mock me for my beliefs no matter what they believe.  I suppose that these individuals are my enemies. 

One of the aspects of this is that I must not make enemies.  I must not declare that someone else is my enemy.   I think that the safest way to proceed in this course of thinking is to surmise that anyone is my enemy who declares that they are my enemy.  Assigning this status on my own requires that I reject the grace, kindness, mercy, and forgiveness that is required of me as a Christ follower.

I have enemies.  They are those who declare themselves to be such.  I am required to love them.  If my heart is right then requirement to love will be seen as a privilege.  This is the purpose of this series of thoughts.   I must get about the business of assuring that I know how to love them properly.  As my beloved Son has said it is about developing barrier crushing love.  

How about you dear reader?  Am I your enemy?  Do you picture me when you mock Jesus and his followers?  Are you someone who also struggles with following Christ by loving those who hate you?  I promise to love you no matter where you are in this.  I promise to love you no matter what you believe.  I promise to love you no matter what you do to me.  Loving you Dear Reader is my obligation and my privilege.   

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.”

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Loving My Enemies – Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I try to avoid using this space to parrot parts of the Sunday sermon or hitchhike on ideas presented at church.  Occasionally, however, what is said there requires deeper thinking on my part here.  This is the case.

I feel a deep need to assure that I am defining and interacting with my enemies based on how Christ does this.  I must be aware of what is the proper way to recognize who is my enemy.  I must recognize the Father’s purpose in his approach to enemies.

This is going to be a deep dive.  I will get into language and nuances of meaning but I promise to keep it simple as well.  I truly value your interactions and questions on this Dear Reader.  In a world where we have external and internal enemies

We have enemies who wish to destroy us and those who simple wish to thwart us.   We have enemies because of what we believe.  We have enemies because of our race or way of life.   I try not to collect enemies but they appear just the same.

Walk with me dear reader.  Perhaps together we can better learn how recognize and love our enemies.

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.”

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Why I love Christmas – Absent Friends

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

One of the things I ponder during the quiet times of Christmas are the people who are not in my life for one reason or another.  The people I love, I love deeply and permanently.  The human condition gets in the way and some of those people are no longer a part of my life.

Whether it is absence due to strife, life, or death I miss people and they come to mind when I am pondering and praying.  I have ornaments to remind me of those who have left this life and gone on ahead of me.  When I am alone I whisper their names to God and wish them a quiet Merry Christmas.  I suppose I should explain to my Daughter that this is why I get a obsessive about certain ornaments being on the tree. 

There are also those friends who I do not get to see simply due to the way life carries us.  I will make time to reach out to some of them and wish I could give something to all of them.  Some are across town and some are across the world.  Some I hear from often and some not at all. 

I devote an evening every Christmas season to these friends.  I sit when I am at home alone and recount their names to God in gratitude for the good they have infused into my life.  I wish to become better at communicating with all of them and perhaps this year I have cemented a plan to do so.  I will share more on that later.

The last category always fills me with a deep sadness.  It is those absent friends who have moved out of my life because of sin and strife.  Sometimes the fault is mine and I have tried to mend those wounds.  Not all wounds can be mended by me.  Some are people who refuse to communicate with me for one reason or another.  One is an open wound that never seems to close.  I pray for these people often and ask Christ to heal them whether they return to my friendship or not.

One of the reasons I love Christmas is that it is the wellspring of hope that all partings will be one day over.  Christ left complete physical presence with his Father to journey with us so that this could be true.  His departure yields all our eventual reunions.  In the celebration of Christ is all my hope for that day when absent friends will no longer be absent.  Death will have no victory.  Time will no longer hinder.  Strife will no longer separate.  That is truly a good reason to love Christmas.

NOTE: There is no known recording of the song below.  I wish there were.   

Missing You at Christmas – Michel and Sarah Sharp

Snow  is  drifting  on  the  meadow,

Post -man's  ringing  at  the  door,

Bring ng  cards  and  packages  by  the  score.

Ornaments sparkle  from  the  fire  flame,

Lights  are  twinkling  in  the  lane,

But  I  find  myself  missing  you  again.

And  I'm  missing  you  this  Christmas,

If  I  tell  it  true,

I  wish  I  was  Christmasing  with  you.

Memories  both  heal  and  haunt  me,

Joy's  elusive  with  you  gone,

But  I  hold  your  picture  close  and  carry  on.

Nephews  and  Nieces  filled  with  won -der,

Sister  is  busy  with  the  meal,

Just  a  moment  to  call  you  can  I  steal,

The  phone  rings  on  with -out  an  answer.

I return to the frolic feeling blue.

Wishing I was Christmasing with you.

Lovers  dance  a  final  waltz,

Then  for  home  depart,

I  guess  I  must  be  satisfied

To  hold  you  in  my  heart

Alone  in  the  evening  sorting  mail  I,

Wish  I  were  sitting  with  you,

Pond ‘ring  over  sweet  things  that  you  do.

My  eye  recognizes  your  hand  writing,

Anxious  I  open  up  the  card,

Hungering  for  your  words  to  touch  my  heart.

Tears  fall  on  the  card  you  sent  me,

If  what I read is true

Tomorrow I’ll be Christmasing with you

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." 

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