For man, the greatest punishment is for God to leave him to his own will

For man, the greatest punishment is for God to leave him to his own will. In our age, which has rejected Christ, no one understands this seeming slavery.

Pure prayer presupposes the absence of worries. It is achieved when, in everything we do, our mind is free to think and live only through the holy name, the grace of the Holy Spirit.

I did not come to impose my will on others, but, following the example of Christ, to serve them. Try to live this way, and you will see that the grace of God will be with you. Then adopt this attitude in every moment of your life.

If we do not come to understand the meaning of serving others, our lives will be useless. If we want to renew our nature, to make ourselves similar to God, our life must be dominated by the desire to serve others.

Service to our neighbor has a saving power, infinitely greater than any theological theory.

How can we know God as He is? Christ shows us the way, asking us to live in holiness so as not to harm our neighbor, to value others more than ourselves, and not to struggle to dominate them.

We must die to ourselves so that others may live. Christ said it: “Do not be afraid to lose your soul in this service.” He who serves his neighbor saves his soul for eternal life.

What is the enemy’s weapon against our salvation? Envy. In the Gospel, Pilate knows that the Jews want to kill Christ out of envy. Envy is the enemy’s most powerful weapon. Therefore, we must, first of all, avoid the thought of envy.

Envy is inherent in all people, regardless of their social status. Of course, there is always someone stronger than us. Others always have something that we would like to have. Through envy, we reject others, and life truly becomes a kind of dark and troubled image of God.

Try never to condemn another, but to pray for him. To judge another for his shortcomings is to fail to see our own shortcomings.

In our fallen state, we cannot judge our brother justly. Do not be too sure that your brother is wrong. Do not judge him.

Archimandrite Sophrony

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