"I, the light, have come into the world, that whoever believes in Me not remain in darkness." John 12:46

"I, the light, have come into the world, that whoever believes in Me not remain in darkness." John 12:46

For the Feast of the HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS

Talking with Geronta Pavlos of Sinai (of blessed memory):

Q 'God leaves us free to approach Him, so that we can live,' you said, as indeed John the Theologian says that Christ 'gives the Spirit without limit.' (John 3.34) Are we speaking of theosis, the Orthodox Christian goal of union with God?

A Yes – when one purifies his heart from the passions, he begins to live the resurrection while still in this life. But the opposite is also true; when a person doesn’t live in God, when he lives in sin, while still in this life he lives in hell. After bodily death we enter another dimension, but both paradise and hell begin here. If we do not love, we cannot live.

Q How do we love?

A Real love begins in God. Above all, we love God, above everyone and everything. Then, ourselves (as Christ says to love your neighbor as yourself); and then, all other people and all creation – with a love that knows no bounds.

Q 'Love God first, then yourself, then everybody and everything,' you have said. So the source of authentic love – of all our enduring happiness – is to unite ourselves to God’s love. How radically this differs from the idea of spirituality as submission!

A 'Whoever wants to, let him follow me,' Christ says. And even then, freedom is not lost. Nonetheless, free will in God is a mystery, these things cannot be fully explained.

Q Secular society seems terrified by this free will, insisting that people are born helpless victims of their passions.

A This is not correct. We have examples of holy people who previously lived in sin, mired in sin, and were sanctified. This is momentous! People who were bound to sin, and managed to become saints. There is no passion from which a person cannot escape through the grace of God.

Q Is it Western society’s demand to 'understand' God on human terms (or not at all) that renders people powerless before their passions?

A Yes, but of course. Because you cannot understand God; if you could, He would not be God, He would be something else. But one can 'live' God, live with God – with prayer, simplicity, with humility and love – by putting His commandments into action.

...