The Journey towards Love

[Sola_Fide]

Christ prayed for those that crucified Him: ‘Father, count not this sin against them; they know not what they do.’ Archdeacon Stephen prayed for those who stoned him so that the Lord would not judge this sin against them. And so we, if we wish to retain grace, must pray for our enemies. If you do not find pity on a sinner who will suffer in flames, then you do not carry the grace of the Holy Spirit, but rather an evil spirit; and while you yet live, you must free yourself from his clutches through repentance.

- St. Silouan the Athonite

Is "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" in the earliest Greek manuscripts?

 

[TER]

One needs to distinguish a sinner from a penitent. If you have taken upon yourself the role to rebuke the sinner, guard yourself well, that you do not rebuke the penitent also. How dear the repentant sinner is to God, call to mind the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Therefore, let it be very dear for you, he who has become dear to God. At one time it happened that a monk succumbed to sin for which he was banished from the monastery. This monk went to St. Anthony, confessed his sin, repented and remained with Anthony for a period of time. Then Anthony sent him back again to the monastery but they did not receive him and, again, they banished him. Again, the penitent came to Anthony. Again, Anthony sent him back to the monastery with a message to the fathers of the monastery: ‘One boat experienced shipwreck and lost its cargo; with great difficulty did that boat arrive in the harbor and you wish to drown even that which was saved from drowning!’ Hearing this wise message, the fathers received with joy the penitent brother into the monastery.

- St. Nikolai Velimirovich

 

[TER]

If your heart has been softened either by repentance before God or by learning the boundless love of God towards you, do not be proud with those whose hearts are still hard. Remember how long your heart was hard and incorrigible. Seven brothers were ill in one hospital. One recovered from his illness and got up and rushed to serve his other brothers with brotherly love, to speed their recovery. Be like this brother. Consider all men to be your brothers, and sick brothers at that. And if you come to feel that God has given you better health than others, know that it is given through mercy, so in health you may serve your frailer brothers.

- St Nikolai Velimirovich

 

[TER]

A true Christian is made by faith and love of Christ. Our sins do not in the least hinder our Christianity, according to the word of the Savior Himself. He said: I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; there is more joy in heaven over one who repents than over ninety and nine just ones.

Likewise concerning the sinful woman who touched His feet, He said to the Pharisee Simon: to one who has love, a great debt is forgiven, but from one who has no love, even a small debt will be demanded.

From these judgements a Christian should bring himself to hope and joy, and not in the least accept the torment of despair. Here one needs the shield of faith.

- St. Herman of Alaska

 

[TER]

Today, people ask to be loved and that is why they are disappointed. The right thing to do is not to care whether they love you or not at all, but rather, whether you love Christ and other people. This is the only way in which the soul is filled.”

- St. Porphyrios of Greece

 

[TER]

God is good, dispassionate, and immutable. Now someone who thinks it reasonable and true to affirm that God does not change, may well ask how, in that case, it is possible to speak of God as rejoicing over those who are good and showing mercy to those who honor Him, and as turning away from the wicked and being angry with sinners.

To this it must be answered that God neither rejoices nor grows angry, for to rejoice and to be offended are passions; nor is He won over by the gifts of those who honor Him, for that would mean He is swayed by pleasure. It is not right that the Divinity feel pleasure or displeasure from human conditions. He is good, and He only bestows blessings and never does harm, remaining always the same. We men, on the other hand, if we remain good through resembling God, are united to Him, but if we become evil through not resembling God, we are separated from Him. By living in holiness we cleave to God; but by becoming wicked we make Him our enemy. It is not that He grows angry with us in an arbitrary way, but it is our own sins that prevent God from shining within us and expose us to demons who torture us.

And if through prayer and acts of compassion we gain release from our sins, this does not mean that we have won God over and made Him to change, but that through our actions and our turning to the Divinity, we have cured our wickedness and so once more have enjoyment of God’s goodness. Thus to say that God turns away from the wicked is like saying that the sun hides itself from the blind.

- St. Anthony the Great

 

[TER]

Man seeks joy and happiness in heaven. He seeks what is eternal far from everyone and everything. He seeks to find joy in God. God is a mystery. He is silence. He is infinite. He is everything. Everyone possesses this inclination of the soul for heaven. All people seek something heavenly. All beings turn towards Him, albeit unconsciously.

Turn your mind towards Him continually. Learn to love prayer, familiar converse with the Lord. What counts above all is love, passionate love for the Lord, for Christ the Bridegroom. Become worthy of Christ’s love. In order not to live in darkness, turn on the switch of prayer so that divine light may flood your soul. Christ will appear in the depths of your being. There, in the deepest and most inward part, is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is within you [Luke 17:21].

- St. Porphyrios

 

[TER]

Those who desire and crave to belong to Christ and who abandon themselves to the will of God become worthy. It’s a great thing, all-important, to have no will. The slave has no will of his own. And it is possible for us to have no will of our own in a very simple manner: through love for Christ and the keeping of His commandments.

He who has my commandments and keeps them, he is the one who loves me; and he who loves me shall be loved by my Father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. [John 14:31].

Effort is required. For we have to wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this age [Eph. 6:12]. We have to wrestle with the roaring lion [1 Pet. 5:8]. We cannot allow the devious enemy to prevail in the struggle.

- St. Porphyrios

 

[TER]

What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home. The parents need to devote themselves to the love of God. They need to become saints in their relations to their children through their mildness, patience, and love. They need to make a new start every day, with a fresh outlook, renewed enthusiasm and love for their children. And the joy that will come to them, the holiness that will visit them, will shower grace on their children. Generally the parents are to blame for the bad behavior of the children. And their behavior is not improved by reprimands, disciplining, or strictness. If the parents do not pursue a life of holiness and if they don’t engage in spiritual struggle, they make great mistakes and transmit the faults they have within them. If the parents do not live a holy life and do not display love towards each other, the devil torments the parents with the reactions of the children. Love, harmony and understanding between parents are what are required for the children. This provides a great sense of security and certainty.

- St. Porphyrios

 

[Sola_Fide]

Those who desire and crave to belong to Christ and who abandon themselves to the will of God become worthy. It’s a great thing, all-important, to have no will. The slave has no will of his own. And it is possible for us to have no will of our own in a very simple manner: through love for Christ and the keeping of His commandments.

He who has my commandments and keeps them, he is the one who loves me; and he who loves me shall be loved by my Father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. [John 14:31].

Effort is required. For we have to wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this age [Eph. 6:12]. We have to wrestle with the roaring lion [1 Pet. 5:8]. We cannot allow the devious enemy to prevail in the struggle.

- St. Porphyrios

If "effort is required", and only those who "abandon their will to God" will "become worthy", who then can be saved?

Have you done this TER? If you say yes, and if you take any satisfaction in your striving, you have just committed the sin of pride.

So, explain this to me please.

 

[TER]

Abandoning one's will to God requires work. It requires the taming of the passions and overcoming temptations. It requires obedience to the Lord's commandments. It requires tears and humiliations. It requires death to the world and selfless martyrdom for the love of the other, both God and neighbor, in the fullness of love, which is trinitarian. If you are going to posit the argument that no work is required of man, then I am not buying any of it. Even Adam in Paradise had work to do in cultivating the land and being a steward over the earth.

Every good thing comes from God above, this is the orthodox belief. God graces those who follow His Son in self-giving love. God sends His blessings on those who do His will. All glory goes to God above and any progress is on account of the mercy of God.

God knows we cannot be perfect like His Son in the condition we are born in. That is the very reason His Word came into the world - to do what no other person could do. God, in His mercy, knows we cannot be Christ on our own, and so through the work of His Son, we have been given access to the divine nature, the energy, life, and glory of God. This is through the work of the divine Spirit of God, co-equal and eternal with the Father and the Son. Work is not a fallen concept - it is in accordance to the image of God and His likeness. It is the Holy Spirit of God which strengthens where we are weak, lifts where we are down, transforms and transfigures our created nature into the perfection of Christ through our union with His Spirit. We become bearers of Christ, Who is the Firstfruits of man's new creation and our Prototype to salvation.

This happens EVEN NOW, IN THIS WORLD, IN THE SAINTS. These living temples of the Holy Spirit are the living evidence of the Holy Spirit of God immenent in this world and filling with divine flame and power. These holy men and women manifest the Body of Christ in the world, which is the Church, the ekklessia or assembly of the baptized in Christ. They are the very presence of Christ within the world.

The canonized Book of Acts of the Apostles ended on the last page written by St. Luke, but the acts of the Holy Spirit has never ceased to be written in the history of the world. God has been guiding and defending His Church from the Day of Pentecost, and it is through the very testimony and witness of the Saints, and often times by their blood, which God has worked through providentially in order to carry down the Gospel of Christ and fulfill the commission of Christ to go and baptize the nations.

 

[moostraks]

If your heart has been softened either by repentance before God or by learning the boundless love of God towards you, do not be proud with those whose hearts are still hard. Remember how long your heart was hard and incorrigible. Seven brothers were ill in one hospital. One recovered from his illness and got up and rushed to serve his other brothers with brotherly love, to speed their recovery. Be like this brother. Consider all men to be your brothers, and sick brothers at that. And if you come to feel that God has given you better health than others, know that it is given through mercy, so in health you may serve your frailer brothers.

- St Nikolai Velimirovich

<3

 

[TER]

The free will of all intelligent beings has been tested and till now is being tested until it is confirmed in goodness. Because without trials, goodness is never firm.

Every Christian is subjected to some kind of test: one with poverty, another with sickness, a third with various bad thoughts, the fourth with some type of misfortune or humiliation, while another, with perplexities. This tests the strength of one’s faith, and hope, and love for God, that is, shows the person’s inclinations, his attachments, whether he aims for sorrows or is still affixed to earthly things.

So that through these trials a person-Christian himself could see in what position he is in, what his disposition is, and involuntarily humble himself. Because without humility, as all the holy fathers of Godly wisdom confirm in one voice, all our works are unsettled. Even the free will of Angels was tested. If the Heavenly dwellers could not escape the test, then more so must the free will be tested of those living on earth.

- Elder Ambrose of Optina

 

[Sola_Fide]

The free will of all intelligent beings has been tested and till now is being tested until it is confirmed in goodness. Because without trials, goodness is never firm.

Every Christian is subjected to some kind of test: one with poverty, another with sickness, a third with various bad thoughts, the fourth with some type of misfortune or humiliation, while another, with perplexities. This tests the strength of one’s faith, and hope, and love for God, that is, shows the person’s inclinations, his attachments, whether he aims for sorrows or is still affixed to earthly things.

So that through these trials a person-Christian himself could see in what position he is in, what his disposition is, and involuntarily humble himself. Because without humility, as all the holy fathers of Godly wisdom confirm in one voice, all our works are unsettled. Even the free will of Angels was tested. If the Heavenly dwellers could not escape the test, then more so must the free will be tested of those living on earth.

- Elder Ambrose of Optina

"I once laboured hard for the free will of man, until the grace of God at length overcame me."

-Augustine

 

[Natural Citizen]

Love will find a way.

- Tesla

 

[TER]

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,

BUT HAVE NOT LOVE,

I am nothing.

And though I bestow ALL my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body TO BE BURNED,

But

have

not

love,

.....it profits me nothing.​

LOVE

suffers long

and is kind;​

love does not envy;



love does not parade itself,


is not puffed up;



does not behave rudely

does not seek its own,​

(Love) is not provoked,

thinks no evil;

does not rejoice in iniquity,


but rejoices in the TRUTH;


(Love)

bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.


LOVE never fails.


But whether there are prophecies,they will fail;

whether there are tongues, they will cease;

whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect has come,

then that which is in part will be done away.


When I was a child,

I spoke as a child,

I understood as a child,

I thought as a child;


but when I became a man, I put away childish things.


For now we see in a mirror, dimly,

but then


face to FACE.



Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.



And now abide faith, hope, love,

...these three;


but the greatest of these is

LOVE.​

- The Holy Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 13

 

[TheTexan]

Is the Journey to love, a wheel in the sky that keeps turning?

 

[TER]

Is the Journey to love, a wheel in the sky that keeps turning?

More like a ladder...

 

[Sola_Fide]

More like a ladder...

No. Grace is not a ladder you climb. Grace is a ladder Jesus descended down for a man, dug his rotting bones out of the ground, and brought him back up the ladder alive, carrying him by His power alone all the way.

This is the difference between the religion of man, and the religion of Christianity. The difference between the gospel that saves, and a gospel that is not really good news.

 

[TER]

No. Grace is not a ladder you climb. Grace is a ladder Jesus descended down for a man, dug his rotting bones out of the ground, and brought him back up the ladder alive, carrying him by His power alone all the way.

This is the difference between the religion of man, and the religion of Christianity. The difference between the gospel that saves, and a gospel that is not really good news.

What is not really good news? That God expects us to earn our wages and serve Him? Seems like the doctrine of sola fide has caused you tunnel vision and limited your understanding of the rest of the gospel.

He expects us to work, and by our acts, such as how we forgive, He will judge us and forgive us.

What He doesn't want is us complaining when He gives mercy to those whom He gives mercy. He doesn't like it when we act as if He owes us anything, sinners and disobedient children that we are. Just because we might think in our minds and in our faith that He is God, and then go on to proudly convince ourselves we are saved as some special elect and think that is all that we need to do, does not make it so and misses a great part of the rest of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The friends of the paralytic climbed a ladder so that they might bring him closer to Christ, and lowered him from the roof so that Jesus might heal him.

It was their faith which healed the man, just as Christ had said.

But their faith was not mere mental ascent, or an acknowledgment that there is hope and power in Christ, but it was a faith coupled with carrying their friend, climbing a ladder, balancing on a roof, so that they might bring him to his Savior.

Jesus saw them, what they had done, and knew their faith by their works, as St. James, the Brother of the Lord, explained, namely, show me your faith by your works.

Sola, if you limit your religion to certain doctrines (which incidentally are novel interpretations and historically rejected), while at the same time ignoring the rest of the teachings of Christ, you will fail to understand that while God's grace does not work on a ladder, for everything He gives us is free and according to His great love and mercy, our lives in this world certainly is a ladder, through which we demonstrate our complete faith, not merely by our words, our thoughts, or our confessions, but in our works of charity and love, in the image of those who carried their suffering brother upon a roof.

This Sunday, coincidently, the Orthodox Church celebrates as the Sunday of the Paralytic, commemorating that wonderful miracle by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.