May you love one another / Pravoslavie.Ru

Yes love each other

“Love is long-suffering, it is kind, love does not envy, love does not puff itself up, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not easily provoked, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...” (1 Cor. 13:4-8). The topic of today's conversation: the highest Christian virtue is love.

Religion of loving enemies

- Let's start with love. The Lord said: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, let you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

The founder of cenobitic monasteries, Pachomius the Great, had pagan parents. The young man was taken into the army, where he suffered the usual hardships: it was cold and hungry. And then people somehow came to their tent, brought warm clothes, blankets, talked to them kindly, and gave them food. And he was shocked because he experienced such love that he did not feel for his own mother. He approached the officer and asked: “Who are they?” - “Yes, these are Christians, they love everyone so much.” And young Pachomius’s heart sank; he did not sleep that night, and the next morning they announced to him that the war was over and everyone was free. But he could no longer go home, his heart was wounded. He found a priest, who gave him the opportunity to read the Gospel, and after that Pachomius received Baptism. He labored a lot in various labors, as a hermit, lived in a hollow, and came to the unexpected conclusion that the best, fastest and most reliable way to get closer to God is to live in communion. The community itself may be imperfect, but there are many people in it who correct you, and you see your shortcomings as if in a mirror.

Athonite Elder Porfiry Kavsokalivit

Pachomius wrote the first charter of the cenobitic monastery. In his monastery, any person quite quickly, within a few months, rejected everything earthly and lived a holy life. How many monks do you think Pachomius had? Thousand. Then he created a second monastery, also for a thousand people. Then a third, a fourth, a total of nine men's and two women's. Love was the way of existence in these monasteries. And for only one reason Pachomius expelled the monks from the monastery - however, after a warning. Because of disobedience. Why do you think?

– Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnitsky has a saying that disobedience is the principle of Satan. Disobedience is a kind of kingdom within a kingdom; it is Satanism.

– Monks should become earthly angels, and heavenly Angels should obey God...

- Absolutely right. Monks take three vows - chastity, non-covetousness, obedience. But the main one is obedience. Because if you have violated chastity, you can repent and correct yourself. Passion can pass. The vow of non-covetousness - well, “the toad was strangling”, the person was attached to something, but this too is gradually passing away. But if he is disobedient, then he is not suitable for any work at all. He can't even be trained to do carpentry. How can you teach him if he says: “And I will plan in my own way, “against the grain.” What are you telling me here?” If a person does not want to listen to a teacher who knows how to do things, then, of course, he cannot be his student.

Natural need

– Raise your hands, which of you has ever loved in your life? Has anyone ever loved you? How do you define what love is?

– Sacrifice yourself for the sake of your loved one.

“One businessman I know, a very rich one, said to his wife: “I love you.” - “How did you understand this?” she asks. “I don’t mind the money for you,” he answers.

– Strong criterion. Another would have drawn up a cost estimate.

“Modern girls believe that they can love like Juliet, but she was a believer, and they were not.”

– What follows from this?

- So they can’t.

– By the way, is Juliet’s love good or bad?

“She loved Romeo more than God.” She violated her father's will.

– Did Juliet have any kind of love? Is it according to God? Although they prayed, shouted, called on God, it all looked more like passion.

How else can we define what love is: you don’t mind the money, you want to sacrifice something, you can forgive, right? If there is a choice, who benefits - me or him, and together we do not fit in the boat, then let it be for him. With pleasure, right? In general, spiritual love is possible only by grace, when the Lord gives grace.

Savior Icon of Andrei Rublev

...We have already said that the basis of any virtue is a natural need. Everyone wants to love and be loved. By the way, this can be the basis of any conversation with children, teenagers, and young people. Elder Paisiy says that he easily negotiated with punks, with “out-of-touch” young people. He asked them: do you want to be loved?

John Chrysostom says: “Love is the foundation of all virtue.” And the highest virtue. “Love is God, but who wants to define in words what God is? He, being blind in his mind, attempts to measure the sand in the abyss of the sea,” writes John Climacus. Indeed, it is very difficult to define love. How to determine what God is? There is apophatic (negative) and cataphatic (affirmative) theology; Through negations or analogies with something, we can get closer to what love is. Today we will do this with you.

First: love for God is manifested in fulfilling the commandments.

“…whoever loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23).

But here is what St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) says: “It is characteristic of love to often remember and think about the beloved; It is characteristic of love to often direct and strive with heart and soul towards the beloved. To constantly remember and think about your beloved, to constantly feel yourself attracted to your beloved is characteristic of perfect love. God wants us to love Him with such perfect love.” Perfect love is God the Trinity.

Medicine for heart attack

Love is higher than any gifts and benefits. The Apostle Paul writes: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, then I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I could move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing. And if I give away all my goods and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

The Apostle Paul gives a very beautiful, poetic definition, which I recommend that students learn for life and remember. When they feel sad, they remember this, it’s as if they have the Gospel in their chest, in their heart: “Love is patient, merciful, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, does not act outrageously, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil. , does not rejoice in untruth, but rejoices in the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; But when that which is perfect comes, then that which is in part will cease. When I was a baby, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, reasoned like a child; and when he became a husband, he left behind his children. Now we see as if through a dark glass, fortune-telling, but then face to face; Now I know in part, but then I will know, even as I am known. And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:4–13).

Apostle Paul

“Love is not irritated.” Today I saw a cardiologist for an examination. And he told me an interesting thing: the heart, in his words, hurts because a person does not live peacefully. Because he is angry. Because from many passions he continually finds himself in a stressful situation. This professor has the most powerful equipment. “I,” he says, “can testify: a person who lives peacefully and quietly has a good heart according to all medical indicators.” Who “does not get irritated, does not envy, does not seek his own.”

– A poster should be hung in the clinic: “Love is the best cure for a heart attack.”

- Yes Yes. They there, of course, preach measured walking and physical exercise, but I was amazed that, indeed, the professor, from his personal experience, came to the conclusion that there is a direct connection between the peace in our heart and its health. Once peace leaves the heart, we become candidates for developing heart disease.

Without love

– There are such sayings that have already become famous:

• Justice without love makes a person cruel. • Truth without love makes a person a critic. • Parenting without love makes a person two-faced. • Mind without love makes a person cunning. • Friendliness without love makes a person hypocritical. • Competence without love makes a person unyielding. • Power without love makes a person a rapist. • Honor without love makes a person arrogant. • Wealth without love makes a person greedy. • Faith without love makes a person a fanatic. • Duty without love makes a person irritable. • Responsibility without love makes a person unceremonious.

Love for God's creatures

- Father, why does education without love make a person two-faced?

- Very simple. Here a child goes to Sunday school, they tell him something there, they educate him, and after that he comes to a secular educational institution and there he is taught completely differently. Without love. If there is no love in the family, this is generally the root of all problems. A child lives and is brought up in a certain environment, should we be surprised if he “suddenly” becomes a criminal or commits immoral acts.

Among the children of Sunday school, he was a normal child, but when he left there he found himself in a different environment that he could not resist. If he had a core of love, he would have resisted sinful desires. And without love he is one way here and another there. And at home he appears to his grandmother as one, to his mother as another, and to his father as a third. One will ask for a new toy, another will get permission to sit for an extra hour at the computer. He pits them against each other, knowing the weaknesses of each. Brought up from childhood in guile, he will in the same way begin to adapt to his bosses at work, make a career, or simply exist idly. This is a cripple, a spiritual invalid for life. And why? Because he didn't have a loving upbringing.

... Let's continue the list of what happens without love.

– Severity without love makes a person cruel.

– Love without love makes a person depraved.

– Honesty without love makes a person stubborn.

– Absolutely right: virtue itself without love turns into sin. An abstinent person without love may become proud and may even die from malnutrition. He fasts and walks around angry. The Holy Fathers say: it is better to eat a camel than a man. Why is that? Because a person actually eats these people with his anger.

– Prayer without love makes a person a Pharisee.

- Absolutely right. You can bruise your forehead, they say: an ascetic reads a thousand Jesus prayers. But God may not like this. The Holy Fathers say: prayer does not depend on the amount of reading. Where is the heart in this? Does it do it with love?

Chastity without love makes a person...

- We are also a Pharisee.

– There are people to whom the Lord gave chastity from childhood. You look at some chaste girls and think: thank God. But if you dig deeper, it becomes clear that this chastity in itself is not saving. The person is proud and looks down on everyone: “Who are you, you are all libertines, but I am a chaste, pure person.” Non-covetousness without love makes a person...

- Wasteful.

- Meekness without love makes a person...

- Cowardly. Or godless, cowardly.

– Joy without love makes a person...

- Laughing, carefree.

- Carefree, yes. He can only strive to capture joy; he is always looking for new impressions and pleasures. His whole life consists only of achieving joy. But it’s empty, after this joy I want to cry. And this joy lasts for three seconds.

Courage without love makes a person...

- Reckless.

– Reckless, maybe, yes. Fanatical.

Humility without love makes a person...

– Is humility possible without love?

– Humility, perhaps, is a kind of love. Probably, humility without love is false humility. For show. A person pretends to be so humble, humble, and then suddenly - one day he reveals...

Hegumen Cyprian (Yashchenko)

Pedagogy of the heart

– How does love manifest itself? “The change during prayer from the fear of God into the love of God. Fidelity to the Lord, proven by the constant rejection of every sinful thought and feeling. The indescribable, sweet attraction of the whole person with love for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the worshiped Holy Trinity.” This is how Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) describes his ascetic experiences. During prayer, the fear of God is modified into love. The sinful thought is unstuck. The man is so attracted that he runs to the temple.

The virtue of love leads to seeing the image of God in others. We love other people not because they are our relatives (although all are relatives, through Adam and Eve). And because the image of God exists in every person. But does every person have virtues - the likeness of God? Well, there are some, right?

To love what is from God in a person is what spiritual love is based on. We don't just make it up that he's our blood. Today it is close, but tomorrow it is far away. It goes away quickly. We see in him, first of all, the divine. The ideal is equal love for everyone. Is it possible to love everyone equally?

- Through grace. Because otherwise it’s very difficult.

- Equal to love, but in different ways. Indeed, Christ also loved equally, but in different ways. He gave us such an example of love. “Admiration in prayer and love of the mind, heart and whole body, indescribable pleasure of the body with spiritual joy, spiritual rapture,” wrote Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov). This is where love manifests itself. And further: “Relaxation of bodily members with spiritual consolation. Inactivity of the bodily senses during prayer. Resolution from the muteness of the heart's tongue. Stopping prayer from spiritual sweetness. Silence of the mind." According to the testimony of Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), who himself synthesized the experience of many holy fathers, bodily feelings become silent in love. Even all bodily members relax.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)

How can a person relax now? Drink, have a snack, go to the bathhouse, in a physiological way to get away from stress, from the contradictions that are multiplying in this world. But in love, this is possible in a completely different way. This applies to the body, soul, and spirit. Look, what a beautiful expression: relief from the muteness of the heart’s tongue. What kind of language is this?

– Communication with God.

– When they speak from heart to heart. It’s one thing we transmit information - from one head to another, or we communicate mentally, convey feelings. And there is communication from heart to heart, when our spiritual layer is truly affected. In general, our hearts are silent, it turns out. And indeed, the dumbness of the heart is only resolved with love. The peace of Christ comes to a person, he calms down, his heart stops hurting and stabbing. All our earthly concerns are absorbed into the mind of Christ.

Live a holy life

“We recently had an unction ceremony, and a professor came to it. Four years ago he was diagnosed with cancer, a fast-moving sarcoma. He is a rich man, he rushed and rushed about, but no one here could help him, everyone refused to treat him. And so he found a professor in Switzerland who undertook to operate on him, but warned: there was no guarantee. “You have a fast-moving illness,” he says, “I give you a week to complete all your affairs here on earth, to say goodbye.”

And he came to Moscow for a week. We started talking to him and found out that it turns out that he was not baptized. Well, we talked, he read the Gospel. He came the next day, we baptized him, and at the same time his wife.

And so he prepared a confession for his entire life. This was a rare confession, he confessed for more than two hours with great tears, with great revelation, with many details. He really described what his fault was, he told in detail, not just - he’s a sinner, I don’t have love, but he really showed where he didn’t show this love. He took confession seriously and, in the face of a mortal threat, decided to sincerely repent. The next day I took communion and flew to Switzerland. Two days later he called and said: “Father, I was examined before the operation and no tumor was found.”

They gathered a council of doctors and thought the device was broken. This can’t be, he brought a bunch of X-rays from Russia, and such diseases don’t go away in a week. They examined him using another machine - there was no trace of the tumor left. They started asking him: “Tell me how you were treated? Sincerely." When he told them that he repented, was baptized, took communion, the doctors said: “Apparently, God Himself took part in your life, you had no chance of recovery.” And he became even more frightened by this. He came to Moscow for unction and said to me: “Father, if I shouldn’t have lived, but God gave me life, it’s not by chance. So, He gave it to me for some reason? Give me a spiritual task of what I must do in the remaining time.”

I was very happy about this; people rarely make such a request. I also prayed and gave him a spiritual task: “God has blessed you to live a holy life. When you achieve holiness, then we will describe this incident. It’s pointless to describe it now, because this is only half - God gave it, and how you manage this time is again in your hands.” He asks: “Maybe the bar should be lower? Are there any precedents? - “As much as you like. Prince Vladimir was devoted to sensual pleasures: he loved to fight, he loved to walk, amuse himself, eat and drink. And then he thought about it and accepted Baptism. And after that I became a different person.”

The soulful does not understand the spiritual

“Love is the knowledge of incorporeal beings,” write the holy fathers. What does it mean? Communication with the angelic world, with the Guardian Angel. This is possible primarily through love. I remember one girl whom I met at the apartment of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. She constantly visited her and prayed to Father John. So sincerely, in a simple, childlike way that John of Kronstadt began to appear to her. And several times a day and in the presence of my mother. Such love arose between John of Kronstadt and the girl.

"The weakness of sinful thoughts." How is that? That is, a thought arises, but can no longer do anything with us. There is no strength in him, he is sluggish, he does not have such energy to lead us to sin.

“Sweetness and abundant consolation in times of sorrow.” Someone offended us or we got sick and at the same time we experience sweetness. Why?

– An understanding comes that the soul is cleansed, hope in God appears.

- Thank God I got sick, right? Comfort that he suffered for his sins in this tribulation.

"Vision of human structures." That is, you see a person and understand how he works. This is a physical person, you can only communicate with him in a physical way, as if to condescend to his weakness. And this one is spiritual, it would be good to talk to him spiritually, but he does not understand the spiritual. And this one is spiritual, talk to him about spiritual things. Discussing spiritual problems, being together with him spiritually, this is important.

I know one bishop, he has an amazing ability to build kind, good relationships with all people, even with little contact. He can, say, talk for half an hour about the weather, he can talk about climate change, about technology, cars, about some details, about the harvest, nitrates. Why is he doing this? I took a closer look, and the people he's talking to can't contain more. And his missionary work does not consist in preaching Christ, but in the fact that he communicates with them kindly, in their language, talking about what is interesting and pleasant to them. And when they have a friendly relationship, these people already ask spiritual questions, and then spiritual answers come.

Another very important secret of spiritual life: do not hold anything on yourself. The Lord gave grace, and you return it.

The Lord gave love, and you give it back. Some kind of passion, trouble, anger came to you from people, and you give it to God.

God doesn't get angry. You judge, give it to God, He does not judge. You are gluttonous, give it to Him, God is not gluttonous. You are impatient, but God is patient, he endures everything, give it up - in prayer, in conversation, in a simple appeal to God. Grace was given to us so that we could translate it into prayer, and through this prayer we would give it to God. And through this prayer the Lord will again send us grace. And so there will be a cycle of grace between God and us.

Living embodiment of love

– Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) is the living embodiment of love. Only after being with him, near him, without even asking a single question, and sometimes even without hearing a single word from him, do you come to a peaceful state. Many people cannot understand why everyone loves him so much. And he simply fulfills the Gospel with his life, his mind floats in the Gospel, his heart is in the Gospel. The gospel love that flows from him is more convincing than many words, smart, beautiful examples.

I remember once after a festive service, a meal, we were going to the cell with Archimandrite Kirill, and one of the brothers was going up the stairs, and the elder turned to him: “Simone, do you love me?” - “Of course, Father Kirill.” He told him again: “Simone, do you love me?” - “Well, Father Kirill, you know how much I love you.” Father again: “Simone, do you love me?” He even came down, hugged and kissed the priest. Apparently, as I imagined, he had some kind of resentment, some kind of displeasure. And the priest in this way, with love, removed this insult.

This, by the way, is a very good way. A person is offended by you, and you ask him: “Aren’t you offended by me?” What will he tell you that he is offended? He will say: “Come on...” It’s already easier. “Well, forgive me.”

The best birthday gift

– A loving person willingly endures troubles and dishonor for his loved one. We were once in Jerusalem with Metropolitan Sergius of Voronezh - on St. Sergius’s name day. And when the Metropolitan was leaving the Old City, a little boy, apparently incited by the Jews, ran in front of him and spat in his face. And he walked in metropolitan vestments, panagia. What do you think the Metropolitan did? He dried himself and said: “This is the best gift for my name day. They spat on Christ in this place. “And they spat at me too,” he says. This is not a game, he was so calm, he didn’t even think.

“True love willingly endures hardships, worries and labors, endures insults, humiliations, shortcomings, errors and malfunctions, if there is no harm from them to others; patiently and with meekness endures the baseness and malice of others, leaving judgment to the all-seeing God, the righteous Judge, and praying that God will enlighten those darkened by unreasonable passions,” writes the holy righteous John of Kronstadt.

And here is how Elder Porfiry Kavsokalivit speaks about the troubles that have befallen us: “I see you as the culprit, even if you tell me that this or that one is guilty. Ultimately, you yourself are guilty of something, and you will find it out when I tell you. Acquire this kind of reasoning in your life. This will open an invisible door for you. The secret is to learn not to see evil.”

God bless you - do a spiritual exercise tomorrow: never see evil for the whole day. From morning to evening - look and not see. But to see is not to cling. And when clinging, do not be irritated. And when irritated, immediately repent. And having repented, come into the world. And not see evil again.

Prayer for increased love

O long-suffering Mother of God, Higher than all the daughters of the earth, in Her purity and in the multitude of sufferings You endured to the earth! Accept our many painful sighs and keep us under the shelter of Your mercy. For you know no other refuge and warm intercession, but as you have the boldness to be born of You, help and save us with Your prayers, so that we may without stumbling reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where with all the saints we will sing praises in the Trinity of the One God, always, now and ever and ever. Amen.

ATHONS ELDER PORFIRY KAVSOKALIVIT:

“Those parents who have difficult and ill-mannered children should not be angry with them, but with the one who stands behind their children, with the devil. And we can defeat the devil only when we ourselves begin to become saints.”

“...First of all, a child needs a person of prayer. Fervent, strong prayer. Prayer works wonders. A mother loves to stroke and caress her baby. But she must also practice the “spiritual caress” of prayer.”

“...The holy feelings of the mother and her holy life sanctify the baby from the very moment of his conception.”

“The devil has bridled your daughter and does whatever he wants with her. Start praying with your wife for your daughter. Pray all the time. But don't say anything to the girl. Don't blame her for her behavior. When she returns home late in the evening, as usual, you tell her: “Daughter, your dinner is in the refrigerator, take it out and eat.”

“Your children should never hear you quarreling among yourself...even if you raise your voice at each other!” “...When parents don’t get along with each other, they have difficult children.”

“When you want to tell your children something, tell it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and she herself will manage everything.”

NEW COMMANDMENTS

The ancient commandment commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, but this commandment commands us to love more than ourselves, because Jesus Christ loved us so much that He did not spare Himself, but died for us.

Evfimy Zigaben

Jesus Christ (Savior)

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another [John. 13:34-35].

Saint Basil the Great

Questions about loving your neighbor

Question. What kind of love should we have for each other?

Answer. Which one the Lord showed and which one he taught, saying: “Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13). And if the soul must be invested, then it is all the more necessary in individual cases to show zeal for the benefit of everyone, not in accordance with human relationships, but with the goal of pleasing God.

Question. How can a person acquire love for his neighbor?

Answer. How can a person acquire love for his neighbor? First, let him fear judgment for those who transgress the commandment of the Lord Himself, who said: “He who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). Then let him desire eternal life, for “His commandment is eternal life” (John 12:50); “The first great commandment is... You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; ...the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-39; Mark 12:30-31). May he also desire to become like the Lord, who said: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). And the following reasoning will also help: if our brother is our benefactor, then we humanly owe him the love that pagans also observe, as the Lord clearly speaks about this in the Gospel: “And if you love those who love you, what gratitude are you for that? for sinners also love those who love them” (Luke 6:32), but if he is an evildoer to us, then in this case we are obliged to love him, not only according to the commandment, but also for the fact that he does good in the most important way, if we believe in the Lord who said: “Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unrighteously for My sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12).

Question. How can it be seen who loves a brother according to the commandment of the Lord, and how is it revealed who loves him wrongly?

Answer. Love has two remarkable properties: to grieve and suffer when a loved one suffers harm, and also to rejoice and work for its benefit. Therefore, blessed is he who weeps for the one who sins, who through this is exposed to terrible danger, and rejoices over the one who does well, who, as it is written, thereby acquires incomparable benefits. Yes, and Paul the Apostle testifies, saying: “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it,” no doubt, according to the law of love in Christ, and “if one member is glorified,” obviously, in consideration of the goal of pleasing God, “they rejoice with him.” all members" (1 Cor. 12:26). And whoever is not so inclined clearly does not love his brother.

Evfimy Zigaben

(Interpretation of the Gospel of John)

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another...

Verse 34. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another... There is also an ancient commandment: you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18), but the commandment given now is greater than that, since Jesus Christ adds:

Verse 34... As I have loved, you also love yourselves. This is a new feature. The ancient commandment commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, but this commandment commands us to love more than ourselves, because Jesus Christ loved us so much that He did not spare Himself, but died for us. Some explain this differently: the ancient commandment said: love your sincere and hate your enemy (Matthew 5:43), and now the Savior commands to love everyone, even your enemies. And He Himself loved all the disciples, so that He not only did not hate Judas, who was plotting against Him, but was even troubled in spirit due to strong confusion and sadness over his death.

Verse 35. Of this everyone understands that you are My disciples, if you have love for each other... the same as I have for you, since a true disciple imitates the teacher. This is truly a distinctive, characteristic feature of a Christian, the surest sign, because true love is the foundation of all virtue. What? Aren't miracles much more indicative of Jesus Christ's disciple? No way. Jesus Christ said: Many people will say to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name we have cast out demons, and in Your name we have done many mighty powers? And then we will confess to them that I have never known you... (Matthew 7:22-23); read the entire interpretation for this place. True, miracles especially attracted people to faith in Christ, but this is because miracles were always preceded by the love of miracle workers.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

The commandments of the Gospel and the commandments of the Mosaic Decalogue

The Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, beginning to expound His all-holy commandments, said: Remember not that I came to destroy the law and the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17).

How did the Lord fulfill the law and the prophets? Having sealed the transformational sacrifices by sacrificing Himself for humanity, replacing the shadows and fortune-telling of the Old Testament with the grace and truth of the New Testament, satisfying the prophecies with the prophetic fulfillment of them, supplementing the moral law with so many lofty decrees that this law, while remaining indispensable, at the same time changed due to the height of the new decrees . This is how a child changes when he reaches manhood and remains the same person.

The attitude of the Old Testament to a person can be likened to a spiritual testament to an inheritance, and usually a detailed description of the inheritance is attached with all the necessary measurements and calculations, with land plans, with drawings of the structure; the attitude of the New Testament can be likened to the introduction of ownership of an inheritance. Everything is laid out and depicted there on paper: here everything is presented essentially in practice.

How do the commandments of the Gospel differ from the commandments of the Decalogue of Moses? The latter did not allow fallen man to fall into a state that was decidedly unnatural, but they also could not lead him to the state of purity in which man was created. The commandments of the Decalogue preserved in man the ability to accept the commandments of the Gospel (John 3:21). The commandments of the Gospel elevate him to an integrity higher than that in which we were created: they build the Christian into the temple of God (John 14:23), having made him the temple of God, they support him in this grace-filled, supernatural state (John 15:10).

The holy apostles Peter and Paul were exact executors of the law of Moses out of special love for God (Acts 10:14, etc.; Phil. 3:5,6). Purity of direction and integrity of life made them able to believe in the Redeemer and be His apostles. Obvious sinners often turned out to be capable of faith, their sins had descended into the likeness of cattle and beasts, but they confessed to their sins and decided to repent of them. The least capable were those sinners who, with conceit and pride, became like demons, and, like demons, rejected the consciousness of sinfulness and repentance (Matt. 21:31,32).

The Lord called all His teaching, all His Word and all His words commandments (John 14:21,23). The verbs, He said, even the verbs I spoke to you, are the Spirit and the life (John 6:63). They transform a carnal man into a spiritual one, resurrect the dead, and make the descendant of the old Adam a descendant of the New Adam, a son of man by nature - a son of God by grace.

The commandment of the New Testament, which embraces all other particular commandments, is the Gospel. The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God draws near: repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15).

The Lord called his private commandments small due to the simplicity and brevity of their presentation, due to which they are accessible to every person. Having called them small, the Lord nevertheless announced that the violator of one such commandment will be called in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19), that is, he will be deprived of this Kingdom (Good News).

Let us fear the Lord's decree! Let us consider the Gospel, note in it all the commandments of our Lord, introduce them into memory for careful and careful fulfillment of them, and believe with living faith in the Gospel.

The first commandment given by the Lord to humanity is the commandment of repentance

The first commandment given by the Lord who became man to humanity is the commandment of repentance. The Holy Fathers affirm that repentance should be both the beginning of a pious life and its soul throughout its entire continuation (Reverend Mark the Ascetic. Homily 1 on repentance). Without repentance it is impossible either to acknowledge the Redeemer or to continue in the confession of the Redeemer. Repentance is the consciousness of one’s fall, which has made human nature indecent, defiled, and therefore constantly in need of a Redeemer. The Redeemer, all-perfect and all-holy, is replaced by fallen man who confesses the Redeemer.

Thus let your light shine before men, for they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 6:16), the Lord said to His disciples, commanding them to do all the virtues together in secret and foretelling that they would hated and reviled by men (Matt. 6:1-19; Luke 21:17). How can we fulfill this commandment of the Lord by doing our good deeds in secret? We will gain the opportunity to fulfill it precisely when we renounce the search for our own glory, when we renounce ostensibly good actions from our fallen nature, from ourselves, and act for the glory of God, from the Gospel (Good News). Every one, as he receives a gift, says the holy Apostle Peter, serves among himself, as a good builder of the various graces of God: If anyone speaks as the words of God: if anyone serves, as with strength, even as God bestows: in everything, let God Jesus Christ be glorified. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever (Pet. 6:10,11). Those who, having forgotten their glory, solely seek for God to be glorified and to be known by men, are glorified by God. Only those who glorify Me will I glorify (1 Samuel 2:30); If anyone serves Me, My Father will honor him (John 12:26), said the Lord. He who secretly performs his good deeds, solely for the purpose of pleasing God, will be glorified for the edification of his neighbors according to the arrangement of God's providence for him.

Every commandment of God is a sacred mystery...

Unless your righteousness comes out, any more than the scribe and the Pharisee, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20). The truth of the scribes and Pharisees was satisfied with studying the Law of God according to the letter, which was not followed by studying it with life, which, on the contrary, was followed by a life contrary to the Law of God. Those who remain with only studying the Law of God according to the letter, due to such superficial knowledge, fall into pride and conceit, as the Monk Mark the Ascetic notes (Homily 4) and as happened with the scribes and Pharisees. The commandments of God, which are essentially comprehended by fulfilling them (Reverend Mark the Ascetic. On the spiritual law, chapter 32. Philokalia, part 1), remained hidden for the Pharisees. The eyes of the soul, enlightened by the commandments (Ps. 18:9), when they are fulfilled, were not enlightened among the Pharisees. They, from activities contrary to the Law of God, acquired a false concept of the Law of God and, because of the Law of God, which was supposed to bring them closer and assimilate to God, they moved away from God and became enemies of God. Each commandment of God is a sacred mystery: it is revealed by fulfilling it and as it is fulfilled.

The Old Testament forbade the gross consequences of anger: the Lord forbade the most heartfelt action of passion (Matt. 5:21-22). The prohibition was pronounced by the Lord, and therefore it has extraordinary power. Just remembering the short and simple words of the commandment exhausts passion. This effect is seen in all the Gospel commandments. The Lord directed His first words against anger, as the main sinful ulcer, the main passion, opposite to the two main virtues: love for one’s neighbor and humility. On these two virtues the whole edifice of Christian activity is founded. The touching of the passion of anger in a person robs him of all the opportunity for spiritual success.

The Lord commanded the maintenance of peace with neighbors

The Lord commanded the ever-intensified maintenance of peace with our neighbors (Matthew 5:23), just as the Apostle said: If it is possible from you, have peace with all people (Rom. 12:18). Don’t bother trying to figure out who is right and who is wrong, whether you or your neighbor: try to blame yourself and maintain peace with your neighbor through humility.

The Lord forbade carnal lust

The Law of Moses forbade adultery: the Lord forbade carnal lust (Matt. 5:27,28). How powerfully this prohibition affects fallen nature! Do you want to abstain from unclean views, thoughts and dreams? Remember, as they begin to act, the saying of the Lord: Anyone who looks at a woman with his bodily eyes or with his mind at her image represented by a dream, to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

There is a natural attraction between bodies of the two sexes. This attraction does not act equally. A person feels almost no attraction to other bodies of the opposite sex, to others it is weak, to some it is very strong. The Lord commanded us to avoid getting close to persons towards whom we feel a special natural attraction, no matter how worthy the persons are of our friendship in terms of their commendable spiritual qualities, no matter how necessary and useful they are to us. This is the meaning of the commandment about casting out the gum, the tempting eye, and cutting off the gum, the tempting hand (Matthew 5:29-30. Evangelist).

God forbade divorce

The Lord forbade divorce, which was permitted by the law of Moses, except in those cases when the marriage had already been unlawfully dissolved by adultery of either half (Matt. 5:31,32). The dissolution of marriage was allowed to human nature, humiliated by the fall; after the renewal of humanity, the God-Man restored the law given to nature in its state of purity (Matt. 19: 4-9).

The Lord restored virginity

The Lord restored virginity, leaving it to those who wished to preserve it (Matt. 19:11-12).

The Lord forbade the use of an oath

The Lord forbade the use of an oath. The fathers rightly note that no one deserves less credibility than the one who often uses an oath; on the contrary, no one is believed as much as someone who constantly tells the truth, even if he does not use an oath. Speak the truth, and you will not be forced to commit godhood, which, being a violation of reverence for God, belongs to the undertakings of Satan (Matt. 5:32-37. Evangelist).

The Lord forbade vengeance

The Lord forbade vengeance, which was established by the Mosaic Law and by which evil was repaid with equal evil. The weapon given by the Lord against evil is humility. But I tell you not to resist evil: but if someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him: and whoever wants to sue you and take your robe, let him have it too (Matthew 5:38-40).

The Lord commanded love for enemies

The Lord bequeathed love for enemies, and in order to acquire this love, He commanded us to bless those who curse, do good to those who hate, and pray for those who cause misfortune and those who subject them to exile (Matthew 5:44). Love for enemies gives the heart fullness of love. In such a heart there is no place for evil at all, and it is likened in its goodness to the All-Good God. The apostle invites Christians to this graceful moral state when he says: Put on yourselves, because you are holy and beloved, as being the chosen ones of God, in the womb of generosity, kindness, humility, meekness and long-suffering: accepting one another, and forgiving yourself if anyone blames anyone: As Christ forgave you to eat, so also do you (Col. 3:12,13). By perfect love for one's neighbors, adoption as sons is brought to God (Matthew 5:45), that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit is attracted into the heart, and all-holy love for God is poured into it.

A heart infected with malice and incapable of the love for enemies commanded by the Gospel must be healed by the means indicated by the Lord: it must pray for enemies, not at all condemn them, not subject them to slander, speak kindly about them, and do good to them as best we can. These actions extinguish hatred when it flares up in the heart, keep it constantly curbed, and significantly weaken it. But the complete eradication of evil is accomplished by the action of Divine grace.

The Lord commanded to give alms in secret, to pray in the solitude of a closed cell, and commanded that fasting be hidden

The Lord commanded those who give alms to give it in secret, those who practice prayer He commanded to pray in the solitude of a closed cage, He commanded those who fast to hide their fasting (Matthew 6:18). These virtues must be performed solely for the purpose of pleasing God, for the benefit of one’s neighbor and one’s soul. Not only should our spiritual treasure be hidden from human eyes, but also from our own selfishness (Matt. 6:3). Human praise robs us of our virtues when we perform them openly, when we do not try to hide them, and we are inconspicuously drawn towards people-pleasing, deceit, and hypocrisy. The reason for this is our damage by sin, the painful state of our souls. Just as an ailing body needs to be protected from winds, cold, various foods and drinks, so an ailing soul needs a variety of storage. While protecting our virtues from damage by human praise, we must also protect them from the evil that lives in us, this foolishness of ours, and not get carried away by vain thoughts and dreams, vain joy and vain pleasure, which appear in us after the accomplishment of virtue, and rob us of its fruit.

The Lord commanded us to forgive our neighbors their sins against us

The Lord commanded us to forgive our neighbors their sins against us: if you forgive, He said, as a man, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you their sins. If you do not forgive men their sins, your Heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins (Matthew 6:14-15). From these words of the Lord it follows naturally that a sure sign of the remission of our sins is when we feel in our hearts that we have definitely forgiven our neighbors all their sins against us. Such a state is produced, and can be produced, only by Divine grace. It is a gift from God. Until we are worthy of this gift, we will, according to the will of the Lord, before each of our prayers examine our conscience and, finding memory of malice in it, eradicate it by the above means, that is, by praying for our enemies and blessing them (Mark 11:25). Whenever we remember our enemy, we will not allow ourselves any other thought about him other than prayer and blessing.

The Lord commanded non-covetousness

The Lord commanded non-covetousness to His closest disciples and followers. Do not hide for yourselves treasures on earth (Matt. 6:19). Sell your property and give alms. Create for yourself a treasure that never decays, a treasure in heaven that does not fail, where no thief approaches, no moth corrupts: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Luke 12:32-34). In order to acquire love for spiritual and heavenly objects, one must renounce love for earthly objects; in order to love the fatherland, one must renounce the painful love for the country of exile.

The Lord gave a commandment to guard the mind

The Lord gave a commandment about guarding the mind, a commandment that people usually do not care about, they do not even know about its existence, about its necessity and special importance (Matt. 6:22,23; Luke 11:34-36). But the Lord, calling the mind the eye of the soul, declared: if your eye is simple, your whole body will be light; if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Here residence is called body. Dwelling takes its quality from the way of thinking that guides living. We acquire the correct way of thinking because of the health, integrity or simplicity of our mind, when it completely follows the Truth, without allowing any admixture from the area of lies into its assimilation. Otherwise: only that mind can be called sound which, with the help and action of the Holy Spirit, completely and unswervingly follows the teachings of Christ. A greater or lesser deviation from the teachings of Christ reveals a greater or lesser morbidity of the mind, which has lost simplicity and allowed complexity. Complete deviation of the mind from the teachings of Christ is its death. Then this light is recognized as extinguished, ceases to be light, and becomes darkness. A person’s activity depends entirely on the state in which his mind is: activity flowing from a sound mind is completely pleasing to God, activity depending on a mind that has allowed admixture into itself is partly pleasing to God, partly contrary to God, the activity of a mind darkened by the teaching of lies, rejecting the teaching Christ-like, completely obscene and abominable. If there is darkness in the light that is in you, then how much darkness is there?

The Lord has forbidden vain cares

The Lord forbade vain worries so that they would not scatter us and weaken our essential care for acquiring the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 6:24-34). Vain care is nothing more than an illness of the soul, an expression of its unbelief. That is why the Lord said: Have little faith! Do not worry about your soul, what you eat, or what you drink, nor about your body, what you put on (Matthew 6:30,25). Hate the idleness that God hates, love the work that God loves, but do not weaken your soul with empty care, which is always useless and unnecessary. So that you would be strong in soul and zealous in the cause of God, in the cause of your salvation, the Lord gave a promise to provide you with everything you need for temporary life, by His almighty right hand, that is, by His Divine providence (Matthew 6:33).

The Lord forbade condemning our neighbors and judging them

The Lord forbade not only condemning one's neighbors, but also judging them (Luke 6:37; Matt. 7:1), when there is no need to carry out justice for one's own and public benefit. The last kind of judgment is greater than the law (Matthew 23:33), according to the Lord’s definition, without such a judgment, good cannot be separated from evil, our activities cannot be correct and pleasing to God. This judgment rarely occurs between people, but they are constantly engaged in judgment and condemnation, forbidden by the Lord. For what reason? Because of complete inattention to oneself, because of forgetting one’s sinfulness, because of complete neglect of repentance, because of conceit and pride. The Lord came to earth to save sinners, and therefore consciousness of sinfulness is certainly required from all people; judgment and condemnation of neighbors is the rejection of this consciousness and the appropriation of righteousness that does not belong to oneself, from which judgment and condemnation are made: the name of a hypocrite for everyone who judges and condemns others is the most characteristic name (Matt. 7:5).

The Lord commanded constant, unceasing prayer

The Lord commanded constant, that is, frequent and unceasing prayer. He did not say that we should ask at once and then stop asking, but He commanded us to ask strenuously, persistently, and combined with the command to ask the promise to hear and fulfill the request (Good News). Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, search and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives it, and everyone who seeks finds it, and it will be opened to the one who asks (Matthew 7:7,8). Let us ask with patience and constancy, denying our will and our reason, leaving to the all-holy will of God both the time, the method of fulfillment, and the very fulfillment of what we ask. We will not be ashamed: God does not want to take vengeance on His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night, and be patient for them (Luke 18:7), that is, slowing down the fulfillment of their requests. The day-night cry to the Lord of the elect depicts their constant, persistent, unceasing, intensified prayer.

Based on the consequences of prayer with which it is crowned by God, one can and should conclude about its objects. Evangelist Luke says that God will take vengeance on His chosen ones, that is, He will free them from the captivity in which we are held by our passions and by demons. Evangelist Matthew says that the Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11). There are blessings that no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and no one has ever sighed in the heart. Again the Evangelist Luke says: The Father who is in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13). The objects of our prayer should be spiritual and eternal, and not temporary and material. The main and initial prayer should consist of petitions for the forgiveness of sins (St. Isaac of Syria. Homily 55).

The Lord commanded to forgive our neighbors all their sins against us

Leading us to the accomplishment of goodness, driving out evil from us, the Lord, who commanded not to judge or condemn our neighbors, to forgive our neighbors all their sins against us, also lays down the law: Whatever men will do to you, so do you to them (Matthew 7). :12). We love that our neighbors be lenient towards our weaknesses and shortcomings, that they generously endure insults and insults from us, that they do us all kinds of services and favors: let us be like that towards our neighbors. Then we will achieve the fullness of goodness, according to which our prayer will receive special power; its strength always corresponds to the degree of our goodness. Let go, and they will let it go to you: give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, woven and shaken and overflowing, will be given into your bosom. With the same measure that you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:37,38), from the merciful and just God in His mercy.

The narrow gate - activities according to the gospel commandments

Enter through the narrow gate: as a wide gate and a broad way you lead into destruction, and many are those who enter through it (Matthew 7:13). The wide gate and the wide path are activities according to the will and mind of the fallen nature. The narrow gate - activities according to the gospel commandments. The Lord, looking equally at the present and the future, seeing how few people would follow His holy will, revealed to them in the Gospel commandments, preferring their own pleasure to this will, said: What a narrow gate and a narrow path, lead into the stomach, and few of them eat, like find it! (Matt. 7:14). Encouraging and comforting His followers, He added: Fear not, little flock: for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

The Lord commanded to lead a sober life

The Lord commanded us to lead a sober life, to constantly watch and watch ourselves, because, on the one hand, the hour of the Lord’s visitation is unknown, also the hour of our death, our calling to the judgment of God, it is unknown what temptation and what sorrow may unexpectedly arise and fall upon We, on the other hand, do not know what kind of sinful passion can arise in our fallen nature, what kind of trap and what kind of network the vigilant enemies of our salvation - demons - can create for us. Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning, and you be like a man who waits for his Lord when he returns from marriage, so that when he comes and pushes, it will be opened to him (Luke 12:35,36). And as I say to you, I say to everyone: watch (Mark 13:37).

The Lord commands special attention towards lying prophets

Hearken, commands the Lord, from lying prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves: by their fruit you will know them (Matthew 7:15,16). False prophets are always cunning: and therefore the Lord commands special attention and special caution towards them (Blagovestnik). False prophets are known by their fruits: by their lives, by their deeds, by the consequences flowing from their activities. Do not be carried away by the eloquence and sweet speech of hypocrites, their quiet voice, as if an expression of meekness, humility and love, do not be carried away by that sweet smile that plays on their lips and face, by that friendliness and helpfulness that shines from their eyes: do not be deceived by the rumor that they skillfully spread about themselves among people - those approvals, praises, big names with which the world calls them: look at their fruits.

In trusting in God, one must endure the sorrows of the passions

About those who listen to the teaching of the Gospel and try to fulfill the Gospel commandments, the Lord said that they have a good heart and have heard the word well, hold fast, and produce fruit with patience (Luke 8:15). He foretold to His disciples hatred from the world, persecution, adversity, He promised Himself to vigilantly watch over them and protect them, forbade fear and cowardice, and commanded: in your patience gain your souls (Luke 21:19). In constant trust in God, one must generously endure sorrows from passions arising from fallen nature, from brothers - men, from enemies - demons: he who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13).

The Savior calls you to spiritual freedom

Those who are in grave slavery to sin, under the dominion of a bitter, stony-hearted Pharaoh, under the incessant and painful blows of fierce guards, in the pandemonium caused by the pride of the world! The Savior is calling you to spiritual freedom. Come to Me, He says, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls: for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). The yoke and burden of Christ are the gospel commandments. They require self-sacrifice, and therefore are called a yoke, but they free and revive the soul, fill it with inexplicable peace and pleasure, and therefore are called a good and easy yoke. Each of them is fragrant with meekness and humility, imparting these virtues to the executor of the commandment. The skill to fulfill the Gospel commandments makes meekness and humility a property of the soul. Then Divine grace introduces spiritual meekness and spiritual humility into the soul through the action of the peace of Christ that transcends the mind.

The Lord combined all the commandments into two main ones: love for God and love for neighbor

The Lord combined all His private commandments into two main ones: the commandment of love for God and the commandment of love for one’s neighbor. The Lord depicted these commandments as follows: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:29-31). On this two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets (Matthew 22:40). A person becomes capable of the love of God from the fulfillment of love for his neighbor, and he is raised to a state of striving with his whole being towards God through prayer.

The fulfillment of the Gospel commandments is crowned by the union of man with God

The fulfillment of the Gospel commandments is crowned by the union of man with God. When a disciple of Christ is healed of anger towards his neighbor, and through the action of mental and heartfelt prayer directs all the strength of soul and body to God, then he is recognized as loving God. He who loves Me, says the Savior, will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and I will appear to him Myself. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him (John 14:21,23).

The condition for remaining in the love of God and in union with God is to observe the Gospel commandments. By violating them, the condition is terminated: the violator is ejected from the embrace of love and from the face of God into utter darkness - into the region of passions and demons. If you keep My commandments, said the Lord, you will remain in My love. Be in Me, and I am in you. If anyone does not abide in Me, he will be cast out (John 15:10,4,6).

Brethren! Let us study the almighty and life-giving commandments of our great God, Creator and Redeemer: let us study them through thorough study—in books and in life. In the Holy Gospel they are read, but are understood as they are fulfilled in practice. Let us make war upon our fallen nature when it resists and becomes furious, not wanting to submit to the Gospel. We will not be afraid if this battle is difficult and persistent. With greater effort we will try to win. Victory must certainly follow: warfare is commanded, victory is promised by the Lord. The Kingdom of Heaven, He said, is in need, and the needy, that is, those who violate their nature, delight it (Matthew 11:12). Amen

Saint Theophan the Recluse

(Interpretation of the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Galatians)

Verse 2. Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. The Apostle took the first incentive to show mercy to those who sinned from the danger of his own fall, and the second he took from the general law of bearing each other’s burdens, which follows directly from the law of love and serves as its closest manifestation. The apostle says, as it were, to the greatest: if everyone has the duty to bear one another’s burdens, how much more so does it fall on you, who were chosen for this purpose, to be servants of all, and this means: not only to bear burdens, but also to fulfill the desire to fulfill them. But if you do not want to show such perfection in your relations with your brethren, stick to at least the extreme limit in this regard - bear the burdens of others along with everyone else.

Our interpreters mainly explain this general law. Theodoret writes: “You have one flaw, but you do not have another. He, on the contrary, does not have the deficiency that you have, but has another. You bear his shortcomings, and let him bear yours. In this way the law of love is fulfilled. For the Apostle called love the law of Christ. These are the words of Christ: I give you a new commandment, that you love one another (John 13:34).”


	Love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34)

Author: Editorial Staff

Love each other! 1/2006 → Salvation through Jesus Christ

These words were spoken 2000 years ago, but still millions of people around the world reread them, repeat them and put them into practice. These words bring unimaginable results: people's lives change, they become happy and bring happiness to other people too. What is the secret of these words?

These words were spoken by Jesus before the last supper on Easter evening, on the eve of his death. At that time, there was nothing new in these words - the commandment of love was given to the Jewish people by Moses, one and a half thousand years before the birth of Jesus himself. The apostles did not understand why Christ said that this was a new commandment. Only three days later did they find out what the secret of love was.

Jesus died on the cross. Well, anyone can die, especially if they are guided by good intentions and bright ideas. It is not surprising that the death of Jesus brought nothing into the lives of the Apostles except fear and doubt. However, the third day brought them a new understanding of reality - they met the risen Jesus and realized that His death was different from the death of all other people. Jesus died not because of his sins, but because of the sins of all people, and therefore He has the right to forgive people's sins. Jesus promised eternal life to everyone who believes in Him.

I agree, there were many who promised eternal life and gave wise advice. Many people use beautiful words to teach us how to act in life. Jesus' advice differs from all others in that it demands from us the seemingly impossible, but He proved by His own example that it is possible. Let's think about how Jesus acted.

Firstly, Jesus perfectly understood human sorrows and joys and knew how to serve people. He could easily satisfy any needs of people, as evidenced by the facts of the miraculous feeding of thousands of people (for example, Mk 8.1-9) and the healing of thousands of sick people (for example, Mk 6.56). However, He did not become the founder of medicine or the food industry in Israel. Why? Because His goal was to satisfy man’s spiritual hunger, which is much more important than the physical and can lead to eternal death. Jesus knew very well that no man can escape the Judgment of God, and no man can be justified before God, because everyone has sinned. And He knew that only the death of the sinless Son of God could help people avoid punishment for their sins. And He decided to die to save sinful people.

It is worth considering whether it was easy for Him to die for another person. Are there many people for whom I am ready to die? Are there many people who are ready to die for me? Probably, the fingers of one hand are enough to count both. Therefore, St. Paul wrote: “Scarcely anyone will die for a righteous person; except for a benefactor, perhaps someone will decide to die. But God demonstrates His love for us by the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5:7-8). And so he was convinced until the end of his life that no one else loved him as much as Jesus Christ.

Secondly, He loved everyone without exception, making no difference between good and bad, friends and enemies. Jesus equally loved the faithful disciple John, who cared for His Mother, and Peter, who denied Him three times, and Judas, who sold him. He forgave his executioners and prayed for them. He is ready to give eternal life to anyone who desires it.

Thirdly, by his resurrection, Jesus not only proved the validity of all his statements, but also gave an example of what will happen to everyone after death. He proved that life does not end with death. He proved that after physical death there will always be resurrection - for some to eternal life, and for others to eternal death.

Thus, the Apostles understood that in love, not only beautiful words and strong feelings are important, but above all the will to serve others, the readiness for self-sacrifice and the hope of resurrection to eternal life. Because of this hope, they began to do as Jesus advised them, transforming the world and filling it with love. The modern civilization of Europe and America is built on the foundation of these words - although some try to deny it.

So, dear reader, you have a choice. On your life's path, you can use any advice you want and listen to any mentors you want. But before you choose an authority for yourself, think about what example he gave you with his life. Think about whether he knows your needs better than Jesus, who participated in the creation of the world (see John 1:1-4). Consider whether he did more for you than Jesus, who gave his life for you. Think about where he is now. After all, there is not a single great teacher who would leave his grave, except for the Only One, who called himself Alpha and Omega, Path and Life, Teacher and Savior.

If you have the desire to follow Jesus and take the chance of eternal life, you can accept Him into your heart and make Him your Lord and Savior by praying these words:

“Lord Jesus Christ! Forgive me, a sinful man! I cannot become different without Your help. I need faith in You. I open my heart to You, come into it. Become my Lord and Savior. Take my life into your hands. Make me the person you want me to be. Thank you for loving me enough to give your life on the cross for my sins. Teach me to love others the way you love me. Amen".

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This article was published with the kind permission of Miłujcie się! in November 2010

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