Often people strive to follow rules because it seems easier than changing their inner essence. However, the Lord does not care about mechanical, thoughtless performance for the sake of a “tick” that does not touch your heart. A prayer rule, fasts, and attending church services are not empty prescriptions, but important tools for spiritual growth. They are “training” for the soul that helps you tune in to communication with God. Therefore, if these rules lead you to inner transformation—love, humility, and repentance—they have a deep meaning and are important to Him as a path to your heart.
God cares about a person's state of mind. Being a decent person, knowing how to behave piously is, of course, good. But our Lord was not crucified and died in agony so that everyone would simply be decent and have good manners. He wanted us to pay attention not to the external side of behavior, but to the inner essence. So that a person's heart would be filled with love. That is why He spoke such words that were not understood by others: “love your enemies,” “bless those who curse you,” “do good to those who hate you”…
And how to do it? And this is what you will have to do if you decide to be a true Christian. Christ lived on earth for thirty-three years. And, thank God, the apostles described the main events of His life, which have come down to us. And now, knowing this, we can imitate Christ. The Holy Fathers call this “Christ-like life.”
This means not taking an example from someone who is printed in fashion magazines. Not trying to copy a fashionable hairstyle, not getting hung up on branded things and the latest brands of phones. A good person is distinguished by their inner qualities, not by the way they are dressed. When someone buys an expensive fur coat or copies someone else's style, it may seem to them that they have achieved something. But in reality they have only delved into their own superficiality, and the Lord wants something real from us.
It is important to the Lord that a person change the direction of his life. That he does not just eat, drink, dress, and have fun, but does something opposite – seeks Him. Such a change will be true Christianity, true repentance, and not the pursuit of comfort and pleasure.
The Lord wants to see us faithful to Him. And our lives must be organized in such a way that it corresponds to Him. So that a person is not guided by what people will say about them, how they will treat them.
Christ desires man to be with Him. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Our daily hustle and bustle and energy are aimed at making sure that here on earth we are comfortable, well-fed, and no worse off than others. But God has completely different plans for us.
Sometimes we wonder why something in our lives is not going well, something is not working out, something is not going well here. And we are looking for the wrong thing and the wrong place. And when we open the Gospel, we do not understand anything. Although everything is written there very simply. Christ says: “Come, dine.”
Do you want to dine with Christ or at some newfangled restaurant? Only by studying the Gospel and accepting it into our hearts will we be able to understand something in our lives. Perhaps then we will not ask meaningless questions: “Where will I end up?”
The Kingdom of Heaven is not some swamp. No one gets there. The Kingdom of Heaven enters a person if he loves God with all his mind and heart.
Джерело: ukr.media
