I was at a family retreat last weekend and our priest spoke to us (the youth) about these verses. I remembered how powerful they were the first time I read them, and how they change your life once you really take it to heart. So for this week, I am putting these verses for you to read and benefit from.
"Give heed to me, O children, for I am your father, and do what I tell you, that you may be saved. For the Lord honored the father over the children and strengthened the judgment of the mother over her son. He who honors his father atones for his sins; and he who honors his mother is like one who stores up treasure. He who honors his father will be gladdened by his own children, and when he prays, he will be heard. He who honors his father will have a long life, and he who obeys the Lord will give rest to his mother; and he will serve his parents as his masters. Honor your father and mother in word and deed, that a blessing may come upon you from him, for the blessing of a father establishes the houses of the children, but the curse of a mother uproots their foundations. Do not glory in the dishonor of your father, for your father's dishonor is no glory to you. For the glory of man is from the honor of his father, and it is a disgrace for children to dishonor their mother. My son, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him in his life; and if his understanding fails, be considerate, and do not dishonor him in your prime. For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and it will be credited to you instead of your sins. It will be remembered in the day of your affliction; thus your sins will melt away like frost in warm weather. He who forsakes his father is like a blasphemer, and he who provokes his mother to wrath is cursed by God." -Wisdom of Sirach 3:1-16 SAAS
Friday, May 29, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
The Saints
This week I will talk about Saints and I hope to clarify our understanding about Saints as Orthodox Christians.
Let’s begin with the actual word. The word “Saint” comes from the Latin word “Sanctus” which means “Holy.” The Greek word used for “Saint,” also means “Holy.” The word in Greek is “Agios.” Now as Orthodox Christians we all understand that this word is also used to worship God in the Trisagion (Thrice Holy Hymn), which was sung by the Seraphim in Isaiah 6 and which we use in the Liturgy. The interesting thing about the word “Agios” is that from its etymology (root words) means “Unearthly” (a- being a negative particle, and gios meaning earth such as Geology). So the understanding was Holiness is Unearthly meaning coming from Heaven. With the Saints, the article (the word “the”) is always used which implies that their Holiness does not come from themselves. But for God there is no article, because He is Holy in Himself, it’s who He is; His essence. So the Saints derive their Holiness from God by believing in His Son and following His way. So now that we know the word “Saint” means “holy one,” let’s move on to see what the understanding about Saints is in the Orthodox Church.
As good Christians, we are Saints, but we venerate those who have finished their race on Earth and now stand in the presence of God in Heaven. We venerate (honor) the Saints in our Church for their example, because they lived the faith of Christ till the very end of their lives. And we continue to ask them to intercede for us just as we ask the Saints who are with us now to intercede for us. And this is the understanding: why should they stop praying for us if all they do in Heaven is worship God? Now their intercession is stronger because they have passed their tests on Earth and finished the race and are closer to God than we are. To illustrate this better it is like a child whose parent is very angry at him and they will not listen to anything they say when they approach them, but the child being on good terms with the other parent asks the other parent to ask the angry parent to forgive the child. The angry parent will listen to the spouse because the relationship is much stronger with the spouse than it is with the child.
We also follow their example. Such as St. Paul the Apostle who started off as a fanatic Jew and became the farthest reaching Apostle to the entire world. Also like St. Abba Moses the Black whose whole life is a life of repentance. He started off as a desert bandit and a leader of a mob and then became a monk and contemplated the wonderful works of God and died as a martyr for his faith. We follow their examples and look up to them as role models, and we imitate them as they imitated Christ. Because everyone needs heroes in life, of course our Hero of Heroes in Our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is through the Saints that the Church continues because just as the Apostles followed Christ’s example and brought faith to many in the world, those who believed also followed their example, and we followed theirs. It is like a passing on of a flame, as Jesus said, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15) and as Paul later said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
However, many denominations wandered off from the correct teaching about Saints. Catholics, in the middle ages started teaching wrong things about the Saints, such as they were higher than us and that they did so many good works that it became a surplus and we could buy some of that surplus to count for us on the Judgment Day. The first reason why the teaching about the Saints being higher than us is wrong is that although now, truly they are higher than us, they were mere humans who received the grace of God and worshipped Him in Spirit and Truth and ran their race and struggled but finished the race and endured until the end. They are just showing us the example that we must follow, we too can become Saints like them and even higher if we worship God in Spirit and Truth as they did. The second thing which is about the surplus of works is wrong because the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus in the Parable of the Ten Virgins explicitly says, “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:6-10). The oil is symbolic of the works of the saints; the five wise virgins COULD NOT GIVE to the five foolish because these works are theirs and cannot be shared on the Judgment Day. The correct understanding of faith and works is that God is the one we focus on, not other people. So if we surpass the entire world, we will still not attain a surplus because God is infinite and we can never be.
The Protestant view of Saints is also incorrect. The Protestants consider every single member of their churches a Saint just like the ones who are now in Heaven. The biggest error is this view because simply they forget one very important thing; the Saints in Heaven are in Heaven, they proved themselves in the tests. We, however, the ones on Earth, are struggling and there is no telling how someone may go in their life such as one of the first seven Deacons in Acts 6, Nicolas. He was ordained a Deacon and was full of the Holy Spirit, but under pressure he fell and finally stood away from the correct view and he became the leader of one of the first heretic sects, the Nicolaitans, who are in fact mentioned in the Book of Revelation. This heretic sect preached that we should sin to receive God’s mercy. This example is in the Bible, and today there are many Protestants who leave their faith. Now do we see the fault in calling us Saints and giving us a feeling of being high above when in truth some will become apostates?
The Saints are our examples and our forerunners into Heaven. They show us how we are supposed to live our lives and how to be strong in times of trouble, temptation, and fear. Their stories serve as encouragement and lead us to glorify and praise God more and more, as it says in the first verse of Psalm 150, “Praise God in His Saints” (Psalm 150:1 LXX). These stories also give us practical examples of people who have actually lived the life that Christ wanted them to live, which also gives us hope that we can live the life of Christ. Many of the Saints are martyrs, if not the majority. These martyrs gave us the purest example of endurance till the end. It was because of these that the Church grew and spread all over the world because people saw their works, their works preached instead of their words. Their blood spoke out, and as Tertullian the Scholar said, “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Their stories give us the strength of faith. I honestly believe if we didn’t have the examples of Saints, the Church would have never become this big and strong.
So to review, good Christians are Saints, but we shouldn’t call ourselves that to give ourselves of feeling of exaltation, because there is no telling how someone might turn. The Saints we venerate and give the title are those who passed their tests on earth and now are in the presence of our Lord in Heaven and will face no more temptation and will pray in front of him always. The Saints are our example and our brethren who have preceded us in the race. We should use their examples for us to learn and be encouraged.
And Glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Let’s begin with the actual word. The word “Saint” comes from the Latin word “Sanctus” which means “Holy.” The Greek word used for “Saint,” also means “Holy.” The word in Greek is “Agios.” Now as Orthodox Christians we all understand that this word is also used to worship God in the Trisagion (Thrice Holy Hymn), which was sung by the Seraphim in Isaiah 6 and which we use in the Liturgy. The interesting thing about the word “Agios” is that from its etymology (root words) means “Unearthly” (a- being a negative particle, and gios meaning earth such as Geology). So the understanding was Holiness is Unearthly meaning coming from Heaven. With the Saints, the article (the word “the”) is always used which implies that their Holiness does not come from themselves. But for God there is no article, because He is Holy in Himself, it’s who He is; His essence. So the Saints derive their Holiness from God by believing in His Son and following His way. So now that we know the word “Saint” means “holy one,” let’s move on to see what the understanding about Saints is in the Orthodox Church.
As good Christians, we are Saints, but we venerate those who have finished their race on Earth and now stand in the presence of God in Heaven. We venerate (honor) the Saints in our Church for their example, because they lived the faith of Christ till the very end of their lives. And we continue to ask them to intercede for us just as we ask the Saints who are with us now to intercede for us. And this is the understanding: why should they stop praying for us if all they do in Heaven is worship God? Now their intercession is stronger because they have passed their tests on Earth and finished the race and are closer to God than we are. To illustrate this better it is like a child whose parent is very angry at him and they will not listen to anything they say when they approach them, but the child being on good terms with the other parent asks the other parent to ask the angry parent to forgive the child. The angry parent will listen to the spouse because the relationship is much stronger with the spouse than it is with the child.
We also follow their example. Such as St. Paul the Apostle who started off as a fanatic Jew and became the farthest reaching Apostle to the entire world. Also like St. Abba Moses the Black whose whole life is a life of repentance. He started off as a desert bandit and a leader of a mob and then became a monk and contemplated the wonderful works of God and died as a martyr for his faith. We follow their examples and look up to them as role models, and we imitate them as they imitated Christ. Because everyone needs heroes in life, of course our Hero of Heroes in Our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is through the Saints that the Church continues because just as the Apostles followed Christ’s example and brought faith to many in the world, those who believed also followed their example, and we followed theirs. It is like a passing on of a flame, as Jesus said, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15) and as Paul later said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
However, many denominations wandered off from the correct teaching about Saints. Catholics, in the middle ages started teaching wrong things about the Saints, such as they were higher than us and that they did so many good works that it became a surplus and we could buy some of that surplus to count for us on the Judgment Day. The first reason why the teaching about the Saints being higher than us is wrong is that although now, truly they are higher than us, they were mere humans who received the grace of God and worshipped Him in Spirit and Truth and ran their race and struggled but finished the race and endured until the end. They are just showing us the example that we must follow, we too can become Saints like them and even higher if we worship God in Spirit and Truth as they did. The second thing which is about the surplus of works is wrong because the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus in the Parable of the Ten Virgins explicitly says, “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:6-10). The oil is symbolic of the works of the saints; the five wise virgins COULD NOT GIVE to the five foolish because these works are theirs and cannot be shared on the Judgment Day. The correct understanding of faith and works is that God is the one we focus on, not other people. So if we surpass the entire world, we will still not attain a surplus because God is infinite and we can never be.
The Protestant view of Saints is also incorrect. The Protestants consider every single member of their churches a Saint just like the ones who are now in Heaven. The biggest error is this view because simply they forget one very important thing; the Saints in Heaven are in Heaven, they proved themselves in the tests. We, however, the ones on Earth, are struggling and there is no telling how someone may go in their life such as one of the first seven Deacons in Acts 6, Nicolas. He was ordained a Deacon and was full of the Holy Spirit, but under pressure he fell and finally stood away from the correct view and he became the leader of one of the first heretic sects, the Nicolaitans, who are in fact mentioned in the Book of Revelation. This heretic sect preached that we should sin to receive God’s mercy. This example is in the Bible, and today there are many Protestants who leave their faith. Now do we see the fault in calling us Saints and giving us a feeling of being high above when in truth some will become apostates?
The Saints are our examples and our forerunners into Heaven. They show us how we are supposed to live our lives and how to be strong in times of trouble, temptation, and fear. Their stories serve as encouragement and lead us to glorify and praise God more and more, as it says in the first verse of Psalm 150, “Praise God in His Saints” (Psalm 150:1 LXX). These stories also give us practical examples of people who have actually lived the life that Christ wanted them to live, which also gives us hope that we can live the life of Christ. Many of the Saints are martyrs, if not the majority. These martyrs gave us the purest example of endurance till the end. It was because of these that the Church grew and spread all over the world because people saw their works, their works preached instead of their words. Their blood spoke out, and as Tertullian the Scholar said, “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Their stories give us the strength of faith. I honestly believe if we didn’t have the examples of Saints, the Church would have never become this big and strong.
So to review, good Christians are Saints, but we shouldn’t call ourselves that to give ourselves of feeling of exaltation, because there is no telling how someone might turn. The Saints we venerate and give the title are those who passed their tests on earth and now are in the presence of our Lord in Heaven and will face no more temptation and will pray in front of him always. The Saints are our example and our brethren who have preceded us in the race. We should use their examples for us to learn and be encouraged.
And Glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Faith and Culture
This week I will talk about culture and faith; an issue that seems to be causing a lot of problems as the Orthodox Church is spreading out all over the world. I would like to start off by talking about why this specific problem plays such a big role in the Orthodox Church. You see there are about 400 million Orthodox Christians in the world. Those Orthodox Christians are separated by culture in to 19-20 churches. 5 of those (the older) are called Oriental Orthodox, about 79 million, and 14 of those (younger) are called Eastern Orthodox, about 321 million. One note I would like to point out, these 19-20 churches ARE NOT DENOMINATIONS, but they are cultural. Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy are the denominations being separated by a couple of differences in teaching.
These cultural distinctions came to be because the churches in the ancient world had several churches in an area which came to be called a Diocese, and over each of those Dioceses there were Bishops. Every country had its own style, and each of those countries later on had Patriarchs who were essentially Bishops that received the honor of overseeing the rest of the Bishops. So as time went on, each of the different countries became distinguished by its style, for example all the churches in Armenia came to be known as Armenian Orthodox. These stylistic differences did not change any type of the teaching; there was no difference in faith between all the Christians of the world.
A problem has arisen ever since believers of these churches first migrated to America and Europe. This problem is of evangelism and how many Christians that belong to these churches cannot identify the differences between culture and faith. Most of the Orthodox Churches’ cultures have completely changed up to become Christian ones such as the Greeks and the Armenians. Now we have all come to different countries which DO NOT BELONG to the cultures, and even if the case is we still live in those countries we MUST BE ABLE to identify the differences between culture and faith.
I have read about stories on how many Americans have tried coming to Orthodox Churches and left because of the “cultural differences.” This should not be an issue yet it is. And it seems that many of the Orthodox like the cultural benefit that their churches have. For example, Copts in Coptic Orthodox Churches and Indians in Indian Orthodox Churches. Sometimes it gets in the way and they make it very difficult for someone to convert to Christianity because of these cultural differences. But we must remember the fact that the Apostles which brought us our faith, the majority of the time shared no culture with us. The majority of them were Jews yet they preached to the whole world. Paul being the prime example of that, with Mark preaching in Egypt, Andrew preaching in Russia and Turkey, Jude and Bartholomew preaching in Armenia, Thomas preaching in India, and Peter preaching in Syria and Rome. It makes us think that it wasn’t easy for them to do what they did yet they did it because of the love and knowledge of Christ.
For the next part I like to ask a question. In the Old Testament (time period not section of the Bible) the language of the believers was Hebrew. In the New Testament what is the language? Naturally people will answer Greek, but that is wrong. The answer to that question is all languages. The whole point of languages came with the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) because Mankind united for the wrong purposes, and God created Man in His Image, so He was fully aware of what they would have been able to achieve, so He confused their languages. With this it became very difficult to communicate and their minds changed instead of being of one mind, and all of these languages developed cultures.
In Acts 2, after the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, this was reversed and they started speaking in tongues and were of one mind. Everyone whom they preached to that day heard in their own language because the message is for Mankind, not for a culture. St. Paul the Apostle spoke concerning language, “So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me” (1 Corinthians 14:9-11). The whole point of this verse is to emphasize the importance of language; that each one may be preached to in his own language and with easy words for that matter otherwise how will he be expected to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The word “Christian,” in Greek literally means, “The Nation of Christ.” And we are all one people who belong to one country, which is Heaven. Therefore, we don’t belong to any country on Earth, because we are sojourners. The Patriarch Jacob (Israel) answered Pharaoh and emphasized this point, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage” (Genesis 47:9). The Apostolic Church Father Mathetes wrote to Diognetus about the Christians saying that the soul is a type (symbol) of Christians who are sojourners: “The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens” (Mathetes 6). So then this makes Christianity itself also a culture, so then how can we preach a culture which is actually not our faith. And in fact, two psalms prophesied that a new people would be born after the psalms were written, the first in Psalm 22, which talks about Our Lord’s Crucifixion says, “A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, they will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has done this” (Psalm 22:30-31). And the second, “This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD” (Psalm 102:18)
So we should remember that there is no difference between us in Christ as St. Paul said, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28). So we should not focus on the ethnicity at all and focus on the faith, because that is all that matters in the end, that we are Christians.
Glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
These cultural distinctions came to be because the churches in the ancient world had several churches in an area which came to be called a Diocese, and over each of those Dioceses there were Bishops. Every country had its own style, and each of those countries later on had Patriarchs who were essentially Bishops that received the honor of overseeing the rest of the Bishops. So as time went on, each of the different countries became distinguished by its style, for example all the churches in Armenia came to be known as Armenian Orthodox. These stylistic differences did not change any type of the teaching; there was no difference in faith between all the Christians of the world.
A problem has arisen ever since believers of these churches first migrated to America and Europe. This problem is of evangelism and how many Christians that belong to these churches cannot identify the differences between culture and faith. Most of the Orthodox Churches’ cultures have completely changed up to become Christian ones such as the Greeks and the Armenians. Now we have all come to different countries which DO NOT BELONG to the cultures, and even if the case is we still live in those countries we MUST BE ABLE to identify the differences between culture and faith.
I have read about stories on how many Americans have tried coming to Orthodox Churches and left because of the “cultural differences.” This should not be an issue yet it is. And it seems that many of the Orthodox like the cultural benefit that their churches have. For example, Copts in Coptic Orthodox Churches and Indians in Indian Orthodox Churches. Sometimes it gets in the way and they make it very difficult for someone to convert to Christianity because of these cultural differences. But we must remember the fact that the Apostles which brought us our faith, the majority of the time shared no culture with us. The majority of them were Jews yet they preached to the whole world. Paul being the prime example of that, with Mark preaching in Egypt, Andrew preaching in Russia and Turkey, Jude and Bartholomew preaching in Armenia, Thomas preaching in India, and Peter preaching in Syria and Rome. It makes us think that it wasn’t easy for them to do what they did yet they did it because of the love and knowledge of Christ.
For the next part I like to ask a question. In the Old Testament (time period not section of the Bible) the language of the believers was Hebrew. In the New Testament what is the language? Naturally people will answer Greek, but that is wrong. The answer to that question is all languages. The whole point of languages came with the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) because Mankind united for the wrong purposes, and God created Man in His Image, so He was fully aware of what they would have been able to achieve, so He confused their languages. With this it became very difficult to communicate and their minds changed instead of being of one mind, and all of these languages developed cultures.
In Acts 2, after the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, this was reversed and they started speaking in tongues and were of one mind. Everyone whom they preached to that day heard in their own language because the message is for Mankind, not for a culture. St. Paul the Apostle spoke concerning language, “So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me” (1 Corinthians 14:9-11). The whole point of this verse is to emphasize the importance of language; that each one may be preached to in his own language and with easy words for that matter otherwise how will he be expected to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The word “Christian,” in Greek literally means, “The Nation of Christ.” And we are all one people who belong to one country, which is Heaven. Therefore, we don’t belong to any country on Earth, because we are sojourners. The Patriarch Jacob (Israel) answered Pharaoh and emphasized this point, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage” (Genesis 47:9). The Apostolic Church Father Mathetes wrote to Diognetus about the Christians saying that the soul is a type (symbol) of Christians who are sojourners: “The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens” (Mathetes 6). So then this makes Christianity itself also a culture, so then how can we preach a culture which is actually not our faith. And in fact, two psalms prophesied that a new people would be born after the psalms were written, the first in Psalm 22, which talks about Our Lord’s Crucifixion says, “A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, they will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has done this” (Psalm 22:30-31). And the second, “This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD” (Psalm 102:18)
So we should remember that there is no difference between us in Christ as St. Paul said, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28). So we should not focus on the ethnicity at all and focus on the faith, because that is all that matters in the end, that we are Christians.
Glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Love
If we do anything without love, “it profits nothing” as St. Paul said in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Even if we have the most faith, the gift of prophecy and all other gifts, they have no value if we have no love. Because not having love, means not knowing God, because “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16)
Everything we do should come because of the love of God in us, “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). Love is a fruit of the Spirit, which means it is something that we need to have if we are real Christians and not hypocrites, and it is also the greatest gift. This is why John says “He has given us of His Spirit.”
Knowledge about God, the Church, and the Scriptures, and dedication also has no meaning if we do not have the love of God. “Because knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Puffs up means to become proud or arrogant, and this is seen more often in Orthodox Churches because of the nature of the way we worship compared to other denominations, because of the long liturgy and the difficult hymns based off the style of chant (which uses twelve notes instead of seven), this can lead to a lot of pride and competition among those who KNOW compared to those who DO NOT KNOW, because they want to show off, parade themselves, in front of the others to show that they might be better. Pride is the worst sin that can be committed because it is a fire that does not stop until it has defeated the other whom it is competing with, it was through pride that Satan became Satan. An interesting note about pride and burning, Lucifer, the name of Satan when he was still in Heaven in the presence of God, means “Day Star,” and the word literally means, “The Shining One.” Satan means “The Adversary,” and the word comes from the root that means, “The Burning One.”
So we should not forget that God is love, and He commanded us not to sin and to be like Him, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:3-5)
Our goal is to be with God, who is infinite and eternal, so if we truly love Him who is Love, there can be no competition. Because our goal is not to become better than someone else but it is to always be conformed to the image and likeness of God, who is Our Lord Jesus Christ. Love bears all things and never fails. So we should stop trying to compete with each other over, and we should stop trying to magnify ourselves, because our goal is not to be the greatest over others and look down on everyone else, but it is to be conformed to the image and likeness of God who is “above all,” (Ephesians 4:6), as C.S. Lewis said, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
May God grant us the gift and virtue of true love, that we may know Him more and more, and always continue to grow in love toward Him and each other, that we may be conformed to His image and likeness, Our Lord Jesus Christ. And glory be God both now and forever, and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Everything we do should come because of the love of God in us, “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). Love is a fruit of the Spirit, which means it is something that we need to have if we are real Christians and not hypocrites, and it is also the greatest gift. This is why John says “He has given us of His Spirit.”
Knowledge about God, the Church, and the Scriptures, and dedication also has no meaning if we do not have the love of God. “Because knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Puffs up means to become proud or arrogant, and this is seen more often in Orthodox Churches because of the nature of the way we worship compared to other denominations, because of the long liturgy and the difficult hymns based off the style of chant (which uses twelve notes instead of seven), this can lead to a lot of pride and competition among those who KNOW compared to those who DO NOT KNOW, because they want to show off, parade themselves, in front of the others to show that they might be better. Pride is the worst sin that can be committed because it is a fire that does not stop until it has defeated the other whom it is competing with, it was through pride that Satan became Satan. An interesting note about pride and burning, Lucifer, the name of Satan when he was still in Heaven in the presence of God, means “Day Star,” and the word literally means, “The Shining One.” Satan means “The Adversary,” and the word comes from the root that means, “The Burning One.”
So we should not forget that God is love, and He commanded us not to sin and to be like Him, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:3-5)
Our goal is to be with God, who is infinite and eternal, so if we truly love Him who is Love, there can be no competition. Because our goal is not to become better than someone else but it is to always be conformed to the image and likeness of God, who is Our Lord Jesus Christ. Love bears all things and never fails. So we should stop trying to compete with each other over, and we should stop trying to magnify ourselves, because our goal is not to be the greatest over others and look down on everyone else, but it is to be conformed to the image and likeness of God who is “above all,” (Ephesians 4:6), as C.S. Lewis said, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
May God grant us the gift and virtue of true love, that we may know Him more and more, and always continue to grow in love toward Him and each other, that we may be conformed to His image and likeness, Our Lord Jesus Christ. And glory be God both now and forever, and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
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