Poll Positions in the Race

Greetings Dear Reader,

First a gentle reminder that I hate politics is needed.   I think that there are few aspects of the election process that are not overrun by corruption and special interest.  I try to avoid the subject and feel that following Christ is to be a constant no matter what the political climate.

That said I am very concerned over the coming presidential election.  It troubles me greatly that the two leading candidates are subject of real criminal investigations.  Either of them could be arrested and indicted any moment.   Neither of them has integrity.  Neither of them has a good reputation.  This should trouble us all.

Please do not misunderstand.  I am not saying I am any better than them.  I am saying that they are not qualified to be president of this nation.   Why do so few people see this?  Why do we settle for loud and proud over humble and articulate?  Why are we content to have greed and dishonor lead us?

Perhaps it is because it is what we deserve.  Our banner of decency is torn and stained.  We no longer lead the world in being honorable and good.  We no longer hold the lion’s share of moral value.  We deny justice to so many while screaming that it is our banner. 

We judge our forebears for their wrong actions whilst justifying our own.  We cannot live with contradictory values and hope to prosper.  We cannot pander to our own interests and divisive preferences and survive.  It is late but it is not too late.

Those at the head of the race are not the best we have to offer the world.  There are those who would do the job well.  We need to rise up as a nation and demand a leader worthy of the office.  We have forgotten how to set aside our differences for the greater good.  Christ followers need to set the example for the rest.

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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Abdication Disallowed – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

There are so many things for which Christ followers are responsible.  We are not permitted to abdicate any of them.  We are not permitted to relegate any of them to others sources.  We are our brother’s keeper.  We are to love our enemies, our neighbors, and the Father at any cost.

This means that no matter what our moral position on someone’s actions, we are not to deny our responsibility to meet their needs.  We cannot use judgment of character as an excuse to fail in caring for others.  We cannot abdicate the command to love unconditionally. 

Whenever the church fails at this the cost is devastating.  The church is made up of people who claim Christ.  It we claim to follow Christ and do not adhere to this then we are not following.  We are instead using his name for our own purposes.  Part of loving God is refusing to use his name for our own purposes.

The simplicity of this encompasses the entire complexity of the world.  We are to humbly, lovingly care for others no matter who they are or what they believe.   If we do this one job it changes the world.  It crushes resistance to faith.  It destroys hatred.  It is in this one command, to love that we find the path that is follow Christ.

If we fail to do this we abdicate all that Christ calls us to be as his followers.  I must assure that I do this above all else.  I must become this and not abdicate it for a moment.  It was entrusted to me and is not mine to give away.

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 ͡°)

Abdication Disallowed – Faith

Greetings Dear Reader,

“The just shall live by faith.”

It is faith that connects us to the Father.  It is in faith that we are to do all things.  It is in faith that we follow Christ.  I have talked before about the common nature of faith.  We all have faith in something even if it is that faith is not necessary.

My thought here is that we may not abdicate faith in anything we do.  If I do not act in faith that my actions follow Christ then I should not act.  It is in faith that we are to do all things.  We cannot believe that we are doing what is right without faith. 

We will have doubts but must doubt in faith.  We cannot abdicate our faith.  Embracing Christ is a commitment.  It is establishing a relationship.  We follow in faith.  We live in faith and we abide in faith.

Whether I abdicate faith in a moment or permanently I am violating the foundation of my relationship with Christ.  I am not allowed to do this.  I must live by faith. I must not abdicate even in a moment.  I must hold onto my faith at any cost.  It is in faith that life is found.

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 ͡°)

Abdication Disallowed – Social Justice

Greetings Dear Reader,

I loathe politics.  It seems to almost always be about money and power.  Even those who want to do good get embroiled in the machinery.  Part or the problem is that Christ followers have abdicated social justice to the government.  

It does not matter what a person’s politics are if they are in need.  They are either friends or enemies and we are to love both.  I do not have to agree with someone’s lifestyle or choices to be loving and kind.  I do not have to accept all of another’s values to live out the value I am commanded to have.

Medical needs, common respect, and genuine kindness transcend all social barriers.  I may not abdicate my responsibility to care for others to anyone else.  The church must not give over its Christ commanded obligation to care for the needs of those around us.  We cannot deliver our vertical message of divine justice if we do not live the horizontal message of social justice.

We need to stop expecting those who do not follow Christ to act like Christ followers.  We need to see the needs of others as an opportunity to exemplify the love of Christ.  Every time we judge and condemn instead of loving and giving we abdicate our calling in Christ.

It does not matter what social position an individual takes.  It does not matter what someone believes.  What matters is if Christ is allowed to be seen through us in every circumstance.  I must assure that my disagreement with any social position does not cause me to abdicate my responsibility to social justice for everyone.   Allowing someone else to be mistreated is mistreating him.

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 – Baseball Change-ups

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.

My local farm team had its opening home game last night.  I was privileged to attend with my Daughter.   They won a game where you get to see all the good stuff.  There stolen bases, back and forth scoring, and a couple of ball crushing home runs. 

Missing in the excitement was my friend Rick.  As with all things in baseball his tenure with the team was temporary.  He is a good man who loves Christ and follows him closely.  He has moved on to an excellent opportunity. 

I did get to see Rick and our friendship endures.  I was, however, reminded of just how baseball is an almost perfect metaphor for life and following Christ.  Everything we see around us is transitional.  The game is liner and limited.  We will have victories and losses.  We will live with consequences of our choices and the spoils of our successes.  Once in a lifetime we may pitch a perfect game.

I love my friend Rick and will miss his presence at every game.  I am also thankful that he has exercised his free agent rights to the benefit of his career.  Moreover, I am thankful that I have been reminded that the changeups in life are something that we can handle if we follow Christ with faithful hearts.  Those hearts may break a little from time to time.  That is just another opportunity to see Christ more clearly and follow 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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Abdication Disallowed – Love

Greetings Dear Reader,

We abdicate the command to love very often.   As I look back on my life some of my greatest failures have been because I failed to love unconditionally.   Marriages, relationships, and strangers suffer when we fail to love unconditionally. 

When we give negative emotions control we abdicate our responsibility to love.  When we are selfish or greedy we abdicate love.   The two commands prevail.  Upon the commands to love God and love each other (neighbors and enemies) rests everything we hope to become. 

When we abdicate our love for God the weight of it can be eternal.  The consequences send out destructive ripples to those around us.  We can choose to also abdicate the truth of this but that does not change it.  We lose friends and family when we abdicate our responsibility to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind.

Abdication of our love for those around us is just as costly.  When I fail to treat others with unconditional love I fail to love the Father and I damage people.  In business and in personal dealings I find the most peace when I respond in love to the situations around me.  When I withhold that love (and that is what it is) I fail.  I often fail badly. 

It is never that I get fed up, or angry, or tired of something.  It is always that I abdicate my responsibility to love others fully and completely.  It is always that I choose not to love.  That is the abdication that I am never allowed.

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 ͡°)

Abdication Disallowed – The Hungry

Greetings Dear Reader,

If we are honest we do not do enough to solve the problem of hunger in the world.  I have plenty.  I have been homeless and hungry.  It was a short time but long enough for me to understand what hunger is.

When we turn vital necessities into profit centered commodities it is destined that we propagate hunger.  A deeper issue is that we do not manage waste.  As we left our time at the sea we had to discard food that was still viable simple because there was no way to transport it.  Someone with vision could find a way to get that food to the hungry. 

The problem is that there are not ways to feed those who are hungry.  The problem is that we do not care enough about it.  I enter the grocery store and get what I need with little thought for those around me who cannot do the same.  I participate in things that help feed the hungry but perhaps have abdicated too much to agencies. 

I am not allowed to abdicate my responsibility for those who are hungry in my community or the world.  As long as there are hungry in the world waste and overabundance are wasted opportunities.  I must find new ways to assist in feeding the hungry.

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 ͡°)

Abdication Disallowed – Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

“Are there no prisons? Are there no work houses?”  In A Christmas Carol Scrooge asks this question when approach about being charitable concerning the needs of others.  His pre-specter opinion is that the needs of the poor are the responsibility of charities and the government.

One of the things that seems to be common is for us to relegate things to social organizations that are individual responsibilities.  I must concede that some things need to be handled by trained professionals but there is much more.  Many societal needs are the responsibility of individuals.  When we relegate them to the government or charities we abdicate our obligation to help others.

This creates a situation where I am too far removed from the needs of others.  We need processes in place to help on a large scale.  We also need to assure that we do not forego our personal responsibility for the needs around us.

In order to refresh my understanding of this I am going to walk through some social issues in my pondering.  I want to be clear that I am not relegating or abdicating my obligation to others.  If Christ followers do not take on social responsibility then we cannot show Christ to others.  Walk with me for a bit Dear Reader and let me know what 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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Blame Storming

Greetings Dear Reader,

In the recent news there is a story about a gorilla that was killed to save a child that climbed into his enclosure.  It is sad that the child got in.  It is sad that the gorilla had to be killed to save the child.  It is sad that people choose to launch a storm of blaming toward the zoo, the parents, and anything else that comes to mind.

Instead of problem solving and finding solutions our culture seems to respond to a crisis by blame storming.  We seemed much more concerned about who to blame for what when than we do for the well being of others.  It is our obligation to care for each other.  Instead we focus on who to blame.

As one who seeks to follow Christ I must consider the fact that I must seek the wellbeing of others as a primary focus. After an incident I must care what can be done to prevent future tragedies.  I must assure that see to human needs before I judge and condemn. 

Then there is the fact that I am no supposed to judge and condemn.  Blame storming is judgment and condemnation at is ugliest.  It does not help or heal.  As a Christ follower I cannot be involved in this.  I must assure that I do not put the needs of humans over the desire to blame.

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 ͡°)

Breathing Salt Air – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

The journey back from the sea was long.  I had many hours to ponder on the drive back.  It was a good time but I think that all of were touched by the siren call of the sea.  Having lived by the sea I know that call too well.

Here in my single dwelling there are not constant waves or shore bird calls.  Summer is short here and I am sure that in January I will again long for warm sands.  The memory of how much I love the sea had faded but with my first sight of it that love returned.

I was reminded of the vastness of the world and how small I am in it.  I was able to see people learn to love the sea.  I was able to see a part of the world that motivates me to free to write and be wherever I wish.

I have no complaints about a day job today.  It is a good job where I get to make a difference.  As with the sea there is constant change there.  The constant for me is the one I follow.  The fulcrum in the void is that Christ is always there. 

At the sea or in the frozen north in mid-winter I have the same journey.  I must follow.  It could be that my path will lead back to the sea on some permanent level.  Wherever I am drawn I will only go if I am sure I am following Christ.

For now I will return to the work I do energized and restored.  It is in the work that I find motivation to be more and to follow more closely.  It is in the journey that I find joy and peace.  This is true no matter where I am.

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 ͡°)