Within Scripture, the cornerstone of our Holy Tradition, as well as in other modes that God has revealed Himself and His will for us, the faithful are repeatedly reminded of the reality that we are in the world, but not of the world.  Even so, we are empowered by God to choose our homeland, either the kingdom of this world, or the Kingdom of Heaven.  For as Bishop Nikolai of blessed memory explains: “Man is presented with a choice in this life: the kingdom of this world or the Kingdom of Heaven. God puts no pressure on this choice, but each man chooses freely.”

Why is it necessary to pray at home, and to attend divine service at the Church?  Well, why is it necessary for you to eat and drink, to take exercise, or to work, every day?  In order to support the life of the body and strengthen it.  So also it is absolutely necessary to pray in order to support the life of the soul, to strengthen the soul, which is sick with sin, and to cleanse it, just as you employ some kinds of food and drink to cleanse the body.  If you do not pray, you behave unadvisedly and most unwisely, supporting, gratifying and strengthening your body in every way, but neglecting your soul. 

When in the ancient city of Capernaum, situated on the Sea of Galilee, pilgrims visit a Roman church built in close proximity to a synagogue that dates back to the time of Christ.  This particular Roman Church is built upon an earlier Byzantine Church, which is built upon an earlier structure that had been expanded from its original floor plan, a home.  This home was in fact the home of the Apostle Peter, the home in which the Lord healed Peter’s mother-in-law who was sick with fever. 

“God requires these three things, which were bestowed in Holy Baptism, from every man: correct belief in soul. Truth on his tongue, and moderation in his body.”  This saying of an ancient father of the desert suggests that we are not saved on our own terms, but instead judged by God based on his requirements. This is why the faithful have been encouraged to:

“My soul thirsts for God, the living God; when can I go meet with God.”  These words of Psalm 42, attributed to the Prophet and King David Psalm, although brief, communicate a longing for God that ought to be the desire and longing of each and every Christian soul. 

One of the differences between the eloquent philosophy of the Greeks and the faith of Christians is that the Greeks’ philosophy can be clearly expressed in words and understood through reading.  But the Christian faith cannot be fully grasped in this way.  For the learning of the Faith, the example of its teacher, Jesus, is indispensible, and both reading and practice of what is read are necessary.  The truths of Christian faith are better understood by practice. 

A young abbot was counseled in this way by a holy man.  Today many people wishing for an excuse not to do what God asks of them find fault with the teaching of the Holy Church and reject correct Christian belief.  Instead, they choose to believe what they wish.  This is akin to a man not wishing to believe that he will die, simply because the notion does not comfort him.  Not only will he fail to prepare for death, as one ought to do, but he will inevitably find himself in the snare of death.  Correct belief is not based on what we wish were true, but on truth itself. 

Saint Anthony, once exclaimed, “Now I no longer fear God, I love him, for love casts out fear.”  “Love” according to Bishop Nikolai of blessed memory, “…is joy, strength, peace and fortitude, and it anoints the human heart with these qualities.  The love of God, like a fragrant oil, is shed up on our hearts in no other way than by the Holy Spirit.”  If we desire to transition from the fear of God to the love of God as did the great ascetic father and this blessed bishop of the Church, we must contemplate as did Saint John of Kronstadt:  “How can we love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and all our strength, and all our thoughts?”  He concludes:

One day, Motovilov was walking in a field with the Elder, Saint Seraphim, near the Sarov Monastery.  The Elder sat him down and said,

The Lord has revealed to me that in your childhood you had a great desire to know the aim of our Christian life, and that you continually asked many great spiritual persons about it but no one has given you a precise answer.  They said to you, ‘Go to church, pray to God, do the commandments of God, do good-that is the aim of the Christian life.’  Some were even indignant with you for being occupied with curiosity displeasing to God and said to you:  ‘Do not seek things which are beyond you.’  But they did not speak as they should.  And now poor Seraphim will explain to you in what this aim really consists. 

this article is reprinted from the March 2010 edition of the Orthodox Observer