How to Follow Christ – Forgivingness – Seeking It

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have said this before but it bears repeating; if you think you do not need forgiveness just ask those closest to you what your faults are.  No matter what we believe about God we need forgiveness from each other daily.  We become tolerant of our own minor unkindness to each other.  We accept that we take others for granted.  We allow our own selfishness to seem less than that of others.  We become dulled to the ways in which we hurt each other and think our damage dealing is not as bad as the next fellows.

If we can spare a moment to be honest we can see that we need forgiveness every day.  The word is not popular but I sin daily.  I can be impatient, demanding, selfish, and controlling.  Sometimes I can be all of those at once.  I have great sins that have hurt others.  I have minor sins that I indulge daily without even thinking about it.  The problem is that no wrongs done to others are minor.

This leads to what Christ has to say about seeking forgiveness.  We are to seek it whether we think we are wrong or not.  If we know that someone has something against us we are to reconcile it as quickly as possible.  We are to even leave what we are doing to make things right.  The important thing here is if we think someone has something against us not if we think we have done wrong. 

The idea of forgiveness is reconciliation.  It is about living in peace with others.  It is about showing Christ to others by trampling our own pride.  I live this out by not accepting that saying I am sorry is enough.  I must always live in the knowledge that if I am to follow Christ I must not leave any room for pride to mask my brokenness.  If I allow pride to make me think better of myself than I am then I am not showing my need for forgiveness and cannot help others see that they need it.

It is in my broken crooked honesty that Christ can be seen by others.  My pride gets in the way of this.  Unless I daily review my actions and seek forgiveness when needed I cannot hope to follow Christ with all my heart.

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."

How to Follow Christ – Forgivingness – Giving It

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have written about forgiveness before.  It relates so clearly to the essence of following Christ.  A day does not go by where I am not in need of it.  A day does not go by when I do not need to give it.  I think that this is a very difficult aspect of following Christ.

I am not sure how but failing to forgive weakens our faith.  It puts a barrier between God and us.  It strengthens the barrier between us and those we need to forgive.  Failure to forgive is failure to love.  Failure to love is the opposite of following Christ. 

When I feel anger or resentment towards someone whether it is just or unjust I must forgive them.  During the evening I think through my day.  I review the things that have offended me and assure that I have forgiven the offender.  If I have trouble forgiving someone I look to the reason that I am withholding love from them.  If I cannot figure it out, I plan to do something nice for them.

I find that going out of my way to be good to someone I have not forgiven helps me forgive them.  Someone said to me recently how hard it is for them to forgive.  I think that part of this is due to atrophy of the forgiveness muscle.  The more often we genuinely forgive the easier it is.  The less often we forgive the more difficult it becomes.

Pride and anger fuel the lack of forgiveness in me.  When I withhold forgiveness I am holding on to anger or demanding justice.  Sometimes the latter is justified but I am to trust God for justice and not seek it on my own.  One can seek justice and forgive at the same time.  I can forgive someone that rear ends me at a traffic light and still insist that he pay for the damages.  I can seek justice if I do it from a place of forgiveness.

I follow Christ by working to constantly forgive.  I have not come close to perfecting it but visiting it daily allows me to keep shorter accounts on my need to forgive.  I know that if I do not focus on forgiveness of even the deepest wrongs done to me then anger and bitterness grow in me quickly.  It is through active forgiveness that I find myself drawn to Christ more deeply. 

And when I failed you

When I’ve lost my way

Still I am drawn to you

Like a moth to a candle flame - Kemper Crabb – Candle Flam e

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."

How to Follow Christ – Listening

Greetings Dear Reader,

The reason that I speak so often of my Grandfather is that he was the first influence for Christ in my life.  His life drew me to the Christ long before I understood what he was saying.  Later, when I made the choice to follow Christ I became influenced by people who chose practice over pure following of the Christ.   It was more important to maintain standards they chose and build the size of the church than it was to share the life of Christ with others.

One day during a sermon the pastor was dwelling on the phrase “Preach the word…” from 2 Timothy 4:2.  I quote the King James Version here because that is the version used then.  A quote that is unverifiabley attributed to St. Francis of Assisi rose in my mind, “Preach the Gospel always; when necessary use words.” 

A sharp contrast began to form in my mind between the way Christians lived and the way Christ intends us to be in our lives.  Later this combined with remembering what my Grandfather used to say to me when I was distracted from instructions he was trying to give.  “God gave us two ears and one mouth.  We should listen twice as much as we speak.” 

All of this forms in my life something I am trying to learn to do.  I try to listen much more than I speak and I try to live more than I preach.  I am not ashamed to share my faith and the reason for the hope that I feel.  I also want to live my life in such a way that my words have validity when I speak them.

I must listen for God.  I must listen to others.  I must speak only when my words will do good and not harm.  I must speak the truth in love.  I must listen with my heart and mind.  I must seek first to understand before asking to be understood.

There is little I can do to mask the past failures of my life.  I cannot undo the impact they have had in those around me.  What I can do is listen to the needs of others and respond with a heart that loves.

Scanning the Silence with inward ear

Life is a listening

Enfolded in echoes of timeless years

The Word comes whispering

Build my being from your throat

Meld my meaning with every note

Wrap me ‘round in an aural cloak

That I may truly hear. – Kemper Crabb – The Vigil

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."

How to Follow Christ – Introduction

Greetings Dear Reader,

Before I launch this discussion I wish to put forth a very clear disclaimer.  I am just getting the hang of this after almost forty years of trying.  I am not in any shade of the term perfect.  Most times I am tolerable.  It is a daily struggle to do what it right.  It is a conscious choice to be more that someone who only lives for what he wants.

As I have said many times before the key to following anything is in what you believe.  I accept it as an axiom that one must have faith because nothing can be absolutely proven.  Some things are more reasonable than others.  What I propose here is to be open as to the struggles involved and the methods that work for me in overcoming those struggles. 

There is no secret formula.  There is a to do list but it is simple and short.  It is also hard and demanding.  There is an extreme paradox.  Many of the things involved in following Christ seem foolish.  Truly following Christ demands that we give up everything.

So the question comes, “What does one do to do that?”  What works?  I think that the first thing I had to do, and it took a long time, was realize how few answers I have.  All of the things that I struggle with, all the sin that hinders my following Christ are part of who I am.

When I think that I have the answers I am in error.  The entire concept of following is that I do not know the path but rather I need someone to follow.   So this is where I begin.  I wake up every morning realizing that today I need to follow more closely than I did yesterday.  Every morning, when my feet hit the floor I remind myself that I am unable to follow Christ without first facing my need for him. 

I begin my day of following by asking for guidance.  I ask that I do nothing that is not following.  I ask for strength, grace, and mercy.  Nothing about following Christ works if I do not embrace the depth of my need to do so.  I realize this seems brief and simplistic but it is also key.  If I seize the moment of awakening to renew my determination to follow Christ then I am much more likely to do so in the moments that follow.

The journey is a series of moments.  If I live to be seventy-two I will have 2,272,147,200 of those moments.  If I wish a life that is lived in following Christ I must give as many of those moments as possible to that following.  Some will be more vital moments than others.  The more I make a habit of following Christ in every moment the more likely I will be to follow him in the vital ones.  This is where it begins.

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."

Why I Believe – A Few Final Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I said at the outset of this I was opening a dialogue and am thankful for those who have joined in.  I would like to draw a distinction between offering a discussion on apologetics and opening to discussion the reasons why I believe.  It seems that some of the interactions have presumed the former when I clearly intended the latter.

If one wishes a real discussion on the general area of apologetics I would recommend my dear friend Donald Williams as an excellent person with whom one could palaver.  My understanding of such matters is my own and not as efficient as his.  This is why I wrote about why I believe and did not attempt to convince anyone else.  I do not believe my words could do that.

The things I covered are some of the things that have influenced me whether anyone else accepts them or not.  Some comments have been interactive and some condemning.  There were a few that were mean spirited and vulgar.  I chose not to approve them to be posted on my Blog. 

Some of my thoughts did not meet the approval of some of my Dear Readers. Others were encouraging or thought provoking for me. I particularly loved the last line of AL’s comment:  “This is our journey and we must figure it out on our own before we be deemed worthy, for we are lost souls struggling to find the light in this increasingly dark abyss.”

I agree that we are in an increasingly dark abyss.  We do struggle to find the light and so many things attempt to hinder the search.  Less and less do I condemn other beliefs or thinking in the place of trying to live out what I do believe before others.  I do not have the power to undo my failures in faith and following in the past.  I do have the desire to live today and tomorrow and any other days I have in following Christ.

With some people it has been made clear to me that I have no right to be heard.  With others I have chosen to try and be the embodiment of my beliefs hoping to earn the right to be heard.  I also know I have a few fellow travelers who get me and see my heart.  For all of these people I am thankful.  In each way they challenge me to be more like I should be as a follower of Jesus Christ.

As I said I am going to leave this topic and attempt to write about ways in which I try to make following Christ a daily act in the moment.  I am sure that I am incomplete and fractured at this but I also know that there are others in the same boat.  I openly admit that I need someone to guide me and I have chosen Christ.  If I am wrong I will not have lost anything for I find I am most content when I feel I have represented him well and that contentment is priceless. 

Finally I do not think I can prove to anyone who Christ is or what he wants from his creation.  I think the mystical aspect of this is that when you believe it makes sense because you believe.  I realize how irrational that is but for me it is none the less true. 

To those who think me foolish, misinformed, or puerile I would ask the following.  Instead of arguing with, dismissing in whole, or despising openly those who claim to follow Christ try this:  Require that we truly follow Christ by treating everyone with respect and compassion.  Hold us accountable to caring for the poor, the sick, and those in need.  Mandate that we not see ourselves as better than anyone else.  Insist that we see the social needs around us and take our Christ mandated place in meeting those needs.  Demand that our defining attribute be unconditional, unflinching, unstoppable love.  Some of us are up to the challenge.

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."

Why I Believe – A Pause to Respond to Comments 5

Greetings Dear Reader,

Sometimes things are profound in their simplicity.  The comment I received from one reader on the item concerning love as a reason I believe had this impact on me.  Patrick wrote “Love tempered with wisdom is surely the birthplace of all pure things. Removing the specter of "if" from the concept ‘I love you.’ can only create beauty in the world.”

I find the comment so vital to living out what one believes.  It is vital that we remove conditions from our love for others if what we believe is to matter at all.  In his Blog, God’s Own Fool he has also written, “Follow Jesus now, not in hope of things to come, but for the sake of everyone around you. IF we Christians would actually try to follow Jesus, if all of us would, Heaven wouldn't really need to come to us.”

I think this is why our love is to be our benchmark.  This also flies in the face of much practical wisdom.  When we choose that love is going to be our prime mover we will seem mad to some people.  I think that as Patrick has noted we will also become bearers of something that is barrier crushing.  We cannot let the failings of others or the foolishness of misguided zealots deter us from this.

If our love is not our prime mover the other aspects of following Christ will become skewed and we will harm others and the name of God.  This is why we must be known for our love.

I will depart from talking about why I believe and begin to discuss how to follow Christ.  This is not going to be a to-do list but rather a review that addresses a very important issue.  No matter how much I believe it cannot be validated by others unless I do things that are truly following Christ.  Since this issue is easily skewed I will examine what I think to hone my ability to live it.  Come with me if you wish.  Perhaps you can aide me in following more closely.

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."

Why I Believe – Morals and Values

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I first pondered this as a reason to believe that there is something beyond me in the universe that is responsible for my existence it seemed simplistic.  Then as I pondered and read about it I realized that the simplicity of the argument is the rational for it.

Why would we conceive of truth, right, and justice if there was nothing outside of us to influence it?  Why would violation of those things be onus to society were there not a code written into us that proposed the value of them?

I have read many things that try to reason man away from an outside influence in this area but the arguments seem circular.  It does not seem reasonable that we would evolve a set of behaviors that would have moral imperatives.

I am not going to review all of the arguments here as others have done it far better than I can.  It is, however, key to why I believe.  I am not obligated to any moral code that does not come from outside of fallible man.  If that code is not imposed from something greater than me then it has no authority over me. 

If there is no morality beyond man then man can only impose his moral code on me because of his power over me by sheer numbers.  This use of might makes right flies in the face of the code that it presumes to enforce.

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."

Why I Believe – The Command to Love

Greetings Dear Reader,

I cannot pretend that I understand the intricacies of the Old Testament law or the way in which these laws work in relation to the world at large.  I do know that central to all the things contained in the law is the command to love.  I have written about this before and will not belabor it too much.

What I want to make clear is that we are to love God and our neighbors including our enemies. This is the focus of all that God commands us to do. This is what Christ pointed out as the foundation of the law.  It becomes very complex very quickly if we do not establish love as the foundation for all of our theology.

We must do things that are centered on loving God and each other.  The failures of Christ followers both globally and individually are anchored in the failure to follow this mandate.  The seminal character flaws in man are linked to this failing.  If I do not embed each action with love for God and my neighbor I am destined to act in a self-centered, self-righteous, and self-absorbed manner.

Any God that wants me to love my enemy must have confidence in his approach to the cosmos.  If any man follows this simple but difficult command he will face difficulties.  I have to work to keep my own interests at bay and to love others.  Even those who wrong, misunderstand, or hate me are to be targets of my love. 

I have seen this work.  I think that when I withhold my love from someone for some slight, real or imagined it damages my faith and my ability to follow Christ.  When I love someone beyond my faults and his I create a space in which respect and understanding can grow.  Problems can get solved.

I believe because God wishes for us to love each other.

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."

Why I Believe – Forgiveness Part 2

Greetings Dear Reader,

In pondering why I believe I have to review the things that hinder or have hindered my faith.  Forgiveness is positively one of them.  When I do not forgive others it impacts my ability to be loving, kind, gentle, and meek with them and others.  When I do not seek forgiveness when I have wronged someone it makes me proud, arrogant, and dismissive.

I think that Christ followers have moved from seeking genuine forgiveness from others to simply apologizing or worse simply saying they are “sorry” when they have wronged someone.  It takes humility to truly ask for forgiveness.  We hand the power of a situation over to the one we have wronged.  We give the wronged person a choice to forgive or not forgive.  We become vulnerable to their choice of right or wrong.

When we simply say we are sorry we do not give the other person true humility.  I think we are not even expressing true sorrow over what we have done.  We retain the power.  We will even use it later to exert power if the individual is still hurting.  “Well I said I was sorry” seems an entirely prideful statement.  It seems that we more want out from under the ramifications of what we have done wrong.

In the same vein we must be very willing to offer forgiveness from a place of humility.  When we are given the power to forgive or not forgive we must remember how in need of forgiveness we are.  If we think we do not need forgiveness at a deep level we need only ask those closest to us.  Once given this power we need to use it lovingly and with great grace. 

Both seeking and granting forgiveness must come from a place of humility.  Failing this we will not achieve true reconciliation.  I think that failure to own our wrongs or forgive the wrongs of others puts in place a barrier between us and God.  If we act out of pride we cannot see our need for redemption.  We do not trust God to handle things.  We begin to question his place in things.  Forgiveness is both a motivator and feeder for faith.

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."

Why I Believe – Forgiveness

Greetings Dear Reader,

Yesterday an observation was made that I wish to agree with wholeheartedly.  The question was posed and posted: “Why is it that Christians so quickly brush off the "bad behavior" of themselves and remind everyone else that God is still loving. There is something deeply troubling about this. The claim the salvation of eternity and then write off the pain or suffering that they cause as temporary and meaningless. Worse still, there are times when Christians cause a great deal of suffering and pain and claim that it is the will of God.”

I think we do brush aside our bad behavior often.  I know that I am either much harder or too often easier I my own actions than I am on others.  Christ followers often fail to own the depth and impact of their sin.  We behave as if our ultimate forgiveness somehow mitigates the impact of our actions. 

I know that I personally feel the depth of the consequences of my failures to follow Christ over the years.  It continues to impact others and even though there is forgiveness from Christ there is no assurance that this heals the damage my actions do to others.  In fact the very idea that I feel that I am forgiven by God may be odious to people who have not forgiven me.

Take the extreme case of someone who has murdered another person.  The killer may truly see how wrong his actions are and seek the redemption and forgiveness that is in Christ.  He may even feel forgiven and somewhat relived.  This does not mean that he has been forgiven by the family of the person he murdered.  He must always be aware of what he taken from them.  Even if they do forgive him it does not heal the damage or remove the loss. 

I believe this is why Christ made it so very clear that the forgiveness of God and our forgiveness of each other is so closely related.  It is why when we wrong others we are to do what is necessary to heal and repair the situation.  It is why Jesus put it upon us to act when we realize that someone has something against us. 

Forgiveness is a bi-axis and multidirectional concept.  When I do wrong the matter is not resolved until I have the forgiveness of God and of those I have wronged.  It is my responsibility to seek the forgiveness of all who are involved.  Paradoxically but still true is the matter that I am obligated to forgive those who have wronged me.  No matter how much I am hurt, angered, or betrayed by what happens Christ insists that I forgive the one who wronged me.

I believe that this is one of the great hindrances to faith.  If I do not see my own failings, pride, and self-centeredness then I will not realize how much I need the forgiveness that Christ bought for us.  If I think that forgiveness from Christ dismisses the obligation I have to live humbly before others then I am mistaken.  If I do not acknowledge my failures as they relate to those around me I appear arrogant and unloving.  The same is true if I do not actively forgive those who wrong me.  My not forgiving others makes me hard hearted and bitter so easily.  A balance must exist between all of these in the way I think and live.

Imagine how much easier it would be to accept Christ followers, even if you did not believe if they did these things.  I know that just reviewing these concepts for this writing have reminded me of how important it is for me to keep them in mind as I deal with everyone.  I think that if I remain constantly aware of my own sinfulness when I deal with others it will work to make me more humble and much more forgiving.  That combined with the love I spoke of earlier can do much to show the true nature of God.

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."