WE WERE NOT CREATED TO HATE, BUT TO LOVE
Talking with Elder Pavlos of Sinai* (1939 - March1, 2020)
- On achieving Holiness
Elder Pavlos: …Of course, it is not something that is impossible to achieve, otherwise God would not ask something from us that is above our abilities – because we do not struggle alone in this great struggle but with the grace of God. With the grace of God, we can reach the heights of holiness.
And if we fall down and trip during this struggle to reach holiness, if we fall due to sins or passions, all we need to do is to get up again. We must never lose our hope, no matter what happens in our life – God will provide. God will never allow us to be lost.
This struggle hinges not just on the grace of God, but on our own will. What does God want? We must want this ourselves. We must try to do what God wishes, the will of God. Does God want this? OK, I will do it. Does God not want this? I will never do it. So, when we struggle according to this system and our own will is always pointed towards what is good, and with the grace of God, of course, we can become free from the slavery to that great thing which is called sin. Because if we do not become free from sin, we will be enslaved to it, and in such a case, we will never reach holiness.
So, this struggle begins and God does not require great feats from us. Above all, God asks from us that we forgive those who have offended us. This is within our own reach at our level. We were not created to hate but to love. And we have as our help in this struggle against sin our own interest, because our nature is not fashioned to hate but to love.
Also, we are not fashioned for our egotism to pump us up, but we are fashioned to be humble. This is what we are all created for, this is what we are all fashioned after, to remain children in our souls. Our Christ said in His teaching during His earthly life, if we do not become children in soul, we do not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. …
* From the Meeting with Elder Pavlos at Holy Resurrection Romanian Orthodox Church in Hayward CA (2012)
Photos from the Blog of Ioannis Froudarakis: https://froudarakis1.blogspot.com/2020/03/
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