May the love of our heavenly Father be
with your souls, so that being invigorated by it you may bear the fruit
of obedience to His life-giving commandments. “Those who desire to live
piously in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12).” Since
you follow the Savior Christ through your devotion to the angelic way of
life, your greatest duty is to bear all suffering, whether it comes
from nature, indolence, sins, or people. Since we desire to live a
Christ-like life, we are obligated to submit to God’s will because all
things come from God. And since they are from God—and thus are the
divine will—the heavenly
Father commands them. Shall we not obey?
Shall we not cry out with the blessed Job, “As it seemed good to the
Lord, so it has come to pass. Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job
1:21)”?
Through patience and thanksgiving to
God, then, we show obedience to the divine will. Won’t the obedient one
be counted worthy to acquire even here eternal life in himself? Yes, he
will live unto the ages of ages! Therefore, let us struggle; let us make
our souls keen by working them over the whetstone of patience, in order
to carry out a work pleasing to God. Afflictions, illnesses,
distresses, trials—none of these will separate us from the love of
Christ. For we have already been taught that narrow and difficult is the
way which leads those who walk along it into the life without sorrow
(Mt. 7:14). Thorns and thistles are placed to the right and left along
the way; therefore, we need much caution.
From Counsels from the Holy Mountain: Selected from the Letters and Homilies of Elder Ephraim of Arizona
On Afflictions, Pain, and Labors
http://www.orthodoxpath.org/saints-and-elders-counsels/on-afflictions-pain-and-labors/
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου