Daily Journey Through the Great Fast With the Early ChurchНамуна

When we reject evil, fill our minds with God’s word and hold on to Him, we become more like Him, more in His likeness; we become holy, as He is holy (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7). It is then, unsurprisingly, that Christians are called to love and to give freely, as God does. We should note that, unlike the world and society we live in, loving and giving isn’t to be done based on certain metrics, those that are “worthy” or even for those that meet minimum requirements deserving of our love and charity. Everyone, those that love us and those that wish us dead, is deserving of God’s love and charity, much like we, although unworthy sinners, do not deserve the grace of God, His love and His charity. As we have freely received, we should also freely give (Matthew 10:8).

Does a candle lose anything of itself by sharing its light with another candle? By sharing what it was freely given it is able to bring a change - it is able to bring more light to a dark room. The same is true of Jesus and His followers - He says, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” [John 8:12] and He also says in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” The moon has no light in it of itself, but merely reflects the light from the sun, we Christians ought to do the same – as the Son has given grace freely and showed us love, we ought to love and give freely because “He first loved us” [1 John 4:19].

“Love is commanded when it is said, ‘Love your enemies,’ so that the saying which was uttered already before the church may be fulfilled: ‘Set in order love in me.’ For love is set in order when the precepts of love are formed. See how it began from the heights and cast the law underneath the backs of the gospel’s blessing. The law commands the revenge of punishment. The gospel bestows love for hostility, benevolence for hatred, prayer for curses, help for the persecuted, patience for the hungry and grace of reward. How much more perfect the athlete who does not feel injury!” [St. Ambrose, 4th century Bishop of Milan]There are two types of growth that the Bible speaks of: growth of sin and growth of righteousness. In the former, James 1:14-15 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” We can begin our good work and efforts in Lent and after a few days, are tempted to slack. Life is busy, work is non-stop, family obligations never seem to end - all of those need my attention, we make the excuse, so it’s ok to slip a little in my Bible readings or quiet time with God, what harm can come from that? When you go to the beach, you may start out straight ahead of where you left your belongings on the sand, but over time, little by little, the waves carry you further and further away from your belongings. The same with sin; little by little, sins of no consequence, in our minds, present the opportunities for bigger sinful opportunities.

The other type of growth the Bible speaks of is the pruning of branches. Jesus declares “I am the vine, you are the branches” [John 15:1] and “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” [John 15:4] Abiding in Jesus is to draw our life source from the vine, from Him. When we plant carnal seeds, expect carnal fruit. Likewise, planting spiritual seeds will lead to sowing and reaping of spiritual fruits. When we choose to remain attached to God, as a branch is to the vine, and make God's word the food of our spiritual life, then He sustains us. As a branch gets its nutrients from the vine, we can only continue to grow more spiritually when we are firmly secured to God.

“The devil presents to us little sins, that may seem to be of no importance before our eyes; as he otherwise, would not be able to lead us to the greater sins.” [St. Mark the Hermit, 5th century ascetic and theologian]