true, noble, pure,
Timothy Sutter
that are true, noble, pure, of good report,
lovely, just and anything of virtue at all,
you know that the first place you will
always find these are in Christ.
and so, keeping one's mind fixed on
Christ accomplishes this noble end.
and so, i can see how the people
with the beads intend that.
of course, one doesn't need the beads
to remain fixed on Christ, but, whatever helps.
just so long as the -beads- don't become
a 'good luck charm' which thing they
can never be.
and that's the same sort of thing
with ritual in general. ritual itself
is not a 'saving grace' and shouldn't
be mistaken for such. ritual is not
actions that earn you points and favors,
but anything that helps to maintain
the fixed presence of Christ is of use.
like any delicate apparatus,
the tendency to 'drift' is
in continuous effect.
technical instrumentation tends to drift
and needs constant and precise tuning
and repositioning and alignement.
in this same sort of aspect,
-you- need this same sort of
continuous tuning, and fixing
the knobs and dials and keeping
yourself set on Christ is a
'hands on' occupation.
so, just as ever,
you don't rely on the ritual to save you,
but to keep your drifting mind
fixed on the Savior.
> so, when you look for those things
> that are true, noble, pure, of good report,
> lovely, just and anything of virtue at all,
> you know that the first place you will
> always find these are in Christ.
> and so, keeping one's mind fixed on
> Christ accomplishes this noble end.
but that's part of the point,
before you think to yourself that
it's the drifting that is interesting,
no, when you're drifting away from
the newness of life which is -in- Christ
you are exactly -not- looking -towards-
a creative gesture and are in all likelihood
being tugged into an about face and wandering
away from the newness of life and into various
'do-loops' as you spiral into oblivion.
see, you focus towards the newness of life
and -that- is where the interesting things,
that you have -not- seen, await.
when the various hooks come in
and pull you off course,
...well, we don't even want to consider being
pulled off course, as such is too dreadful,
but, maintaining a clearly focused avenue of approach
should make the ride that much more enjoyable,
and you won't be saying 'i missed something'
because, you may gain a deeper appreciation
for something that is yet ahead after having
fully appreciated that which you are in the
process of passing right now.
even if you see what appears to be
the same things over and over again,
you may find that the closer you are able to look,
the more you are able to see and so, you don't
really pass the exact same thing because -you-
have grown into the greater appreciation
and see much more, and more, and more.
and...