Priest Konstantin Litvyakov. About love. Selected and Delivered Video, Audio and Text Sermons: God's Love Sermons on Love

About love for God, neighbor and yourself

In the sermon of our reverend father Arseny, love for God and neighbor is spoken of.

Blessed is the man in whom there is the love of God, because he bears God within himself.

In whom there is love, he does not exalt himself before anyone, does not puff himself up, does not slander anyone himself. In whom there is love, he does not compete, does not envy, does not look with a hated eye, does not rejoice at the fall of others. In whom there is love, he fulfills the will of God. Blessed is he who has acquired it, he will be the companion of the angels. By love man is reconciled with God. We must use all our strength to plant in ourselves this feeling of love, the basis of salvation, the source of bliss.

How blessed is the one who has acquired love, so unfortunate and pitiful is the one who is far from it. Whoever does not have the love of Christ is an enemy to Christ. Whoever wants to be saved must certainly acquire it in himself, because, according to the words of the apostle, it is an excellent way to salvation (Corinth., 12). Love occupies such an important place in the matter of salvation that all the exploits of a person, all his virtues, without it, will serve nothing.

About the love of God. In order to increase love for God in oneself, a person needs to remember more often about the blessings that he received from Him. God is the beginningless, the highest, the uncreated, the infinite Good. As the sun always shines, as fire always warms, so God always does good. The Lord does good even then when He punishes, for He punishes in order to correct, to have mercy; brings sadness in order to truly console.

About the creation of man. God is the Creator - He created man out of nothing, not like other creatures, but by His special Divine Council. Man is created in the image and likeness of God. What marvelous goodness of God to man! God loves him so much that He sent His Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Love must be repaid with nothing more than love and gratitude. God is our Provider, He provides for man and takes care of him, giving clothes, food and shelter. A person is surrounded on all sides by His blessings, love, and without Him he cannot live for a minute. Everything around is created by His creative hand.

About signs of love to God. Nothing deceives a person so much as in love. Those who truly love God strive to keep His commandments and avoid everything that is contrary to God. A clear sign of love for God is heartfelt joy in God. A person usually rejoices in what he loves, so God's love cannot be without joy. This is spiritual joy, heavenly, there is a foretaste of eternal life. He who truly loves God remembers him, constantly keeps in his memory his love and good deeds. This can be seen in human love - whom we love, we often remember. So whoever loves God often thinks about Him and aspires to Him with all his heart.

About love for your neighbor. Whoever loves God also loves his neighbor. The source of love for one's neighbor is love for God; but love for God is known from love for one's neighbor. The root and beginning of love for one's neighbor is Divine love. God without a doubt loves every person, love for neighbor is constantly commanded in the word of God. We must try to love our neighbor not in word, but in deed.

About a person's love for himself. Man's love for himself is inspired by nature itself. To love oneself means to seek goodness, happiness and well-being. It belongs to man to know himself, his nature and purpose. If he loves himself as he should, then he tries with all his might to save his soul. A person who loves himself with the right love cherishes his calmness, not embarrassed by any vicissitudes, trying to cleanse his heart of filth and malice for this. A humble heart will never want that which turns it away from God.

About reading the Word of God. It is necessary to read the Holy Scriptures more often, so a person will know better and notice his shortcomings and more root in himself humility of wisdom. Especially the study of the Word of God contributes to the removal of pride. Prayer disposes a person to fellowship with God and at the same time arouses love, both for God and for one's neighbor, and purifies a person's love for himself.

About the Golgotha plagues of Christ. In the first and second appearances to the apostles, the Lord Jesus Christ showed them His sores on the Resurrected Body. And this action with God contained an instructive and mysterious meaning. The ulcers of the cross of Christ are signs of the boundless love of the Divine, a source of abundant grace and a letter of our condemnation. The sores of Jesus are nothing but eternally shining fiery writings, proclaiming to the whole world how much the Merciful Lord loved a person. The wounds of Christ not only preach about the highest love of the Lord, but are also a source of God's rich mercies for believers, because from them pour out into the hearts of the Christian world and grace-filled consolations. Jesus Christ in the Holy Mysteries of the Church revealed to man the inexhaustible heavenly spring of Grace, from where all reborn humanity draws eternal life in God.

30. About love for God and neighbor

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in response to the question of a teacher of the law, which commandment is the most important in the Law of God, answered: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and greatest commandment; the second is like it: love thy neighbor as thyself; on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” From these words of the Savior it is clear that the one who fulfills the commandment of love, that is, learns to love God and neighbor, will fulfill the entire Law of God. Therefore, all those who want to please God must constantly ask themselves the question: do I fulfill these two most important commandments - that is, do I love God and do I love my neighbors?

How can we tell if we love God? The Holy Fathers indicate signs of such love. If we love someone, says St. Silouan of Athos, then we want to think about it, talk about it, be with it. If, for example, a girl fell in love with some young man, then she constantly thinks about him, and all her thoughts are occupied with him, so that even while working, studying, eating or sleeping, she cannot forget him. Let's try to apply this to ourselves: here we are, Christians, who should love God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength - how often do we remember God? Do we think of Him while we work, eat, or sleep? Alas, the answer to this question will be disappointing - we do not remember God very often, or even, one might say, rarely. Our thoughts are almost always occupied with anything but God. Our mind has stuck to the earth, to earthly cares, earthly vanity. Even when we are praying or attending divine services, our mind often wanders in an unknown place, along the crossroads of this world, so that we are present in the temple only with the body, while our soul, and mind, and heart are somewhere far beyond its borders. And if this is the case, then this is a sure sign that we do not love God enough.

How else to check whether we are fulfilling the first commandment, that is, whether we love God? To do this, you need to pay attention to how we fulfill the second commandment - about loving your neighbor. The fact is that these commandments are inextricably linked, and it is impossible to fulfill the first without observing the second. If someone says: “I love God,” but does not love his neighbor, then such a person, according to the word of the apostle, is a liar. So we, if we think that we love God, but at the same time do not love our neighbor, that is, we quarrel, do not forgive insults, have hostility, then we deceive ourselves, for it is impossible to love God without loving our neighbor.

We should also clarify the question of who our neighbor is. Of course, in a broad sense, our neighbors are generally all people, without exception. However, in a narrower and more important sense for us, neighbors are those who are constantly close to us, who surround us every day: members of our family, closest relatives, friends and colleagues at work. In the first place, of course, we should put our family. It is them that we first need to learn to love as ourselves. Show your love first of all in your home and in your family, say the holy fathers.

There are people who loudly declare their love for man and humanity, but at the same time they are in a state of misunderstanding, hostility, and even open enmity with their closest relatives. Such a state, of course, is self-deception, in which the desired is mistaken for the real. After all, before talking about love for humanity, we need to learn to love the people closest to us - relatives, friends, neighbors and colleagues. And this must be learned to do without fail, otherwise we will not fulfill the second of the two most important commandments, and if we do not fulfill the second, we will not fulfill the first either, for it is impossible to love God without loving our neighbor.

So, first of all, we must learn to love our neighbors, no matter how difficult it may seem to us. And sometimes it really is very difficult, because our neighbors are not always angels. Many, for example, may say: the neighbors want to kill me from the world - how can I love them? Or: the boss at work eats me up, constantly finds fault with everything - how can I love him? Or even about the family, many will say: my husband is a drunkard, and there is no life from him ... my daughter wants to get rid of me, send me to a nursing home ... I am raising a grandson who is a drug addict, and there is no way with him. Is it possible for us to love such people?

However, if we want to be true Christians, if we want to imitate Christ and the saints, we must learn to love these people. Of course it's difficult. But Christianity is not some easy, simple and convenient thing. Christianity requires feat. It is no joke to say: after all, the path of a Christian makes a person a son of God, the owner of His inexpressible blessings, an immortal celestial being, an heir to the eternal glory of the saints. After all, this is no small matter. In the book of the Apocalypse, the Lord promises to seat true Christians on His throne next to Himself. Just think: to sit next to God on His throne - is this a small thing? Is it not greater in its grandeur than anything that can be imagined? And if the reward promised by the Heavenly Father is so great, then is it any wonder that it is not always easy for us to fulfill His commandments? After all, even in ordinary earthly life, victory is not given without labor, without a stubborn struggle, without extreme effort.

The Lord, who gave the commandment to love our neighbors, of course, knows that these neighbors are different, that they often do not love us and treat us badly, and sometimes openly hostile. And therefore the Lord, as it were, reinforces the commandment of love by commanding us to love even those who are hostile to us, to love our enemies. He says: if you love only those who love you and treat you well, then what is your reward? Why reward you then - after all, both pagans and those who are alien to the true faith love those who love them.

It is easy to love those people in our circle of acquaintances who are rich, strong, polite, witty, and well disposed towards us. This is easy because communication with them is pleasant and enjoyable, and often some practical benefits. But such love, if you look deeply, is not real, insincere and untrue love, for true love is always disinterested, it, according to the apostle, does not seek its own and loves not for some pleasant and advantageous qualities, but disinterestedly - when there are no such qualities. and even there are opposite qualities. Only such love is Christian and true, only it is a sign that we are walking in the path of Christ. This is how God loves - after all, He loves us not for some great virtues and virtues that do not exist, and not for the benefits that we bring to Him, for what can we give Him? - but loves us as we are - fallen, obscene and sinful. Such love is perfect love, and it is the destiny and sign of the perfect.

The Lord also calls us to such perfection: be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect, He says. And again: be holy, for I am holy. According to St. Silouan, the main sign of the truth of the path for a Christian is his love for enemies - for those people who do not love him, they annoy him, from whom he suffers. And often these people are our close relatives. After all, if there is no life from a drunken husband, or a dissolute daughter kicks out of the house, or a drug addict grandson has sold all things, then these are precisely the people who are subject to the commandment of love for enemies. For in a sense it can be said that by their behavior they have become more like enemies than relatives. And by virtue of this commandment, we must love them if we want to be true Christians and achieve perfection. Yes, these relatives behave like enemies, but we have been commanded to love not only relatives, but also enemies, and to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Christ prayed on the Cross for His crucifiers, and therefore, even if our neighbors begin to crucify us, then, imitating Christ, we must love them and pray for them.

Of course, this is not easy, and such a test is truly a fiery test of our faith, patience and Christian love. It is impossible for a person to fulfill this on his own, but everything is possible for God, and if, in spite of everything, we try to love these people close to us, patiently endure the sorrows they cause, if we force ourselves to pray for them, pity and treat them kindly. good, then we will be imitators of the Lord God Himself in His perfections, and then the Lord, seeing our struggle and patience, will Himself help us in bearing the cross and already in this life will give His Grace and spiritual gifts. As for the reward in the Next Age, it will be so great that we will not at all remember the sorrows that we suffered on earth from people, and if we remember, we will thank God for them, for we will see that it was for our patience that they were honored we are eternal glory in heaven.

Of course, the examples referred to are extreme, but even in such cases we must love those who cause us much grief. Moreover, we must love all other people. Indeed, very often we do not know how to love even those of our neighbors who have done nothing wrong to us. We treat them with hostility, we do not love them, we condemn and slander. And by such behavior, we undoubtedly serve the demons and become like them. Saint Silouan directly says that if you think evil of people or treat someone with hostility, then this means that an evil spirit lives in you, and if you do not repent and do not correct yourself, then after death you will go to where the evil ones are spirits, that is, to hell.

And it must be said that such a danger threatens some of us, people who seem to be church people, who confess and take communion. Imagine, brothers and sisters, what a nightmare, and horror, and shame it will be if we, baptized people, attending the temple, knowing the commandments of God - in a word, having everything that is needed for salvation - if we go to hell ! After all, those who are there - atheists, theomachists, Satanists, lechers, villains - will laugh at us, they will say: well, we didn’t know anything, we didn’t go to church, we didn’t read the Gospel, we lived without God and without the Church - that's why you got here, but what about you? How did you get here? After all, everything was given to you in order to fulfill the will of God in your life, and despite this, you ended up in hell? ..

Holy Scripture reveals to people that God, the Creator of the universe, is love. And it calls us to become like our God, to become like Him. Since God is love, then we, if we want to come to Him, must learn to love. Christian perfection is love, disinterested love, not for something good that people do to us, but love for everyone, even for enemies. St. Isaac of Syria says that the sign of those who have reached Christian perfection is this: if even ten times a day they are burned for love for people, they are not satisfied with this and do not calm down, but would like to be burned a hundred or a thousand times more for the sake of love. As an example, Saint Isaac pointed to Abba Agathon, who, seeing a leper one day, said that he would like to take his decaying body for himself, and give his own to him. And do not think that this leper was some kind of perfect suffering swan. No, most likely, it was an ordinary vagabond, perhaps a very sinful one, perhaps a drunkard or a thief - and Abba Agathon wanted to give his holy body to such a person! And I certainly would, if I could.

Such love is Christian perfection; God, the Creator of the universe, loves with such love. Christ walked in our world through such love - after all, this is exactly what He did with the fallen and corrupted human race: He united with its nature, took to Himself its body leprous with death, and to him, fallen and sinful, gave Himself - His nature, His Divinity, His glory and immortality. And we, Christians, must imitate Christ in this, must learn from Him the perfect Divine love, strive for it, achieve it. “Achieve love,” says the holy Apostle Paul. And let us not be embarrassed by the fact that this ideal seems to us infinitely far away, that we do not feel such love in ourselves and do not have the strength for it. The Lord would not give us the commandment to love if it were impossible to fulfill it. Yes, our selfishness, our pride, our inability and unwillingness to love, our constant and deep tendency to dislike - all this, like unliftable mountains, burdens us, and it often seems that no forces can move these mountains from the soul. However, we must remember that it is to us that the words of Christ are addressed that what is impossible with men is possible with God. And therefore, let us not become lazy, brothers and sisters, but let us try, albeit to a small extent, but still do deeds of love, let us strive for it, let us, according to the words of Elder Paisios of Athos, try to move from the soul the mountains of passions that prevent us from loving, - no matter how big they seem. And then, seeing our efforts and faith, the Lord Himself will move them, and in their place will kindle the flame of perfect love, which makes a person a new creation, sanctifies, elevates to heaven and likens the Lord God Himself, for God, our Heavenly Father, is love. Amen.

This text is an introductory piece.

Chapter 10 (Matt. 22:39) And as you want people to do to you, so do you to them. (Luke 6:31) I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; as I have loved you, let you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you

Lesson 3. The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian (On Love for God and Neighbor) I. The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, now blessed, was the closest and most beloved disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ - in the words of the church song, he was a friend and confidante

Word twenty-six. About love to neighbor Beloved! Let's love each other, and so on. (1 Jn 4:7) The root and beginning of love for one's neighbor is love for God. Whoever truly loves God, certainly loves his neighbor. Without a doubt, God loves every person. So who truly loves the lover

Lesson 2. Holy Hieromartyr Cornelius the Sotnik (You cannot be saved without love for your neighbor) I. News of St. Cornelius, now glorified in church hymns and readings, was reported to St. Evangelist Luke, who mentions him in the 10th chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. He was

2. On the biblical slogans of love for one's neighbor, mercy and non-resistance to evil God's example Ministers of all religions tirelessly repeat that religion softens morals, teaches people to treat each other well, love each other, forgive insults, do good to one's neighbor. IN

III. True faith is in one thing: in love for God and neighbor. 1. "Love one another as I have loved you, and therefore everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another," said Christ. He doesn't say if you believe in this or that, but if you love. - Faith in different people and

2. Love for God and Neighbor Having firmly taken the path of a virtuous life, a Christian must direct all the strength of his soul towards acquiring love for God and neighbor. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself called this love the greatest commandment: "In these two I command all the law, and the prophets hang" (Matt.

6.1. The difference between Judaism and Christianity in the interpretation of the commandment "Love your neighbor" In European popular culture, the idea is widespread that the Jewish religion requires only love for your neighbor, for "one's own", while the Christian one speaks of love for all people and even for enemies.

16. About love for God in the feeling of the heart, how it is acquired; also about perfect love, alien to the purifying fear of God, and about other imperfect love, united with purifying fear No one can love God with all his heart, without first warming up in the feeling of the heart

III. The earthly path of a Christian to God is the struggle with the flesh, repentance, the fulfillment of Christian virtues: love for God and neighbor, patience and forgiveness of insults, humility, mercy and other things. A Look at Wealth From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and

About love for one’s neighbor All the law and the prophets are concentrated in love for God and neighbor

ABOUT LOVE FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR Jesus Christ commanded to love not only your loved ones, but all people, even those who offended us and harmed us, that is, our enemies. He said: "You heard what was said (by your teachers - the scribes and Pharisees): love your neighbor and hate your enemy. And

About love for one's neighbor What could be more beautiful, more enjoyable than love for one's neighbor? To love is bliss; hate - flour. The entire Law and the Prophets are concentrated in love for God and neighbor. Love for your neighbor is the path that leads to love for God: because Christ was pleased

Lesson 2 in the twenty-fifth week On the love of your neighbor Love your neighbor as yourself. Beloved brethren! This commandment of the Lord our God has been proclaimed to us today by the Gospel. The Gospel adds that in love for God and love for one's neighbor

Chapter 15 Love for your neighbor serves as a means of achieving love for God The Savior of the world combined all His private commandments into two main, general commandments: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, He said, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy thought: this is the first And

About love for one's neighbor What could be more beautiful, more enjoyable than love for one's neighbor? To love is bliss; hate - flour. All the law and the prophets are concentrated in love for God and neighbor (Mat. XXII, 40). Love for your neighbor is the path that leads to love for God: because Christ

In previous weeks, the Holy Spirit has prompted me to pray for a deeper knowledge of God's love for me. After I read 1 John 4:16, I realized how little I know about walking daily in God's love. John wrote in this Epistle: “And we knew the love that God has for us, and we believed in it. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

I am sure that most Christians know about God's love for them only theologically. They have studied the scriptures about love and heard sermons about it - and yet their understanding of love comes down to a line from a children's song: "Jesus loves me, I know this, because the Bible tells me so."

We say that we believe that God loves us, the whole world, all lost humanity. But this is an abstract belief! Few Christians can confidently say, “Yes, I know that Jesus loves me because I have a correct understanding of what His love is. I comprehended it, I live in it. She is the foundation of my daily walk.”

However, the daily life of most Christians is not about walking and relying on God's love. Instead, they live under a cloud of guilt, fear, condemnation. They never felt truly free, they never rested in God's love for them. They are able to sit in church, raise their hands and rejoice, but all the while they carry a secret burden with them. There was never a moment when they were absolutely free from the constant feeling that they could never please God. They say to themselves: “Something is missing in me, I am not what I should be. Is there something wrong!"

Listen to what Paul says: “Live in love, even as Christ loved us.” (Eph. 5:2). The apostle insisted, turning to the Ephesians: "Jesus truly loves you - so live like those whom He loved so much!"

I have heard the confessions of many "mature" Christians, those who have walked with the Lord for thirty or forty years and yet confess that they have never known the joy of being loved by God. Outwardly, they looked happy and content, however, inside they always carry the burdens of doubt and fear. I'm sure these brothers and sisters simply never knew the depth of love God has for them. They have never experienced the peace that knowledge of God's love brings to the heart!

You will never seek revelations of God's love until you get tired of living in fear, guilt, condemnation, and shame!

You must wake up one day and say to yourself: “It is impossible to live like this! I cannot continue to serve God with this consciousness of anger on me, always feeling condemned and unworthy. If I love Jesus and believe that my sins are forgiven, then why is my heart so heavy?”

Of course, God did not save you in order to allow you to live your whole life with guilt and condemnation. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24).

One of the meanings of the word "judgment" here is the word "wrath". Jesus says that you will not come to judgment - that is, on the Day of Judgment you will be free from His wrath. But "judgment" also means "a feeling of being constantly out of standard." And Jesus is saying here that the believer will never have this feeling of dissatisfaction with himself!

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:1). Any sense of guilt and condemnation, of course, from the devil. And Paul warns us not to fall into “condemnation with the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6). In the English translation, this passage sounds like “condemnation from the devil.” Here he is saying that when you fall under judgment, you will fall from grace—that is, you will come out of that state of rest that God has given us through the Blood of His own Son.

Beloved, the Holy Spirit convicts, but He never condemns. His ministry is to convict sin. But He does this only for the purpose of healing - to bring a person into a state of peace and rest in Christ. And He does it with tenderness, not with anger.

“Who condemns? Christ died, but rose again; He is also at the right hand of God, and He intercedes for us.” (Rom. 8:34). The Lord says, “Who condemns you? Why are you walking around with a sense of condemnation when your Savior is right before Me, interceding for you?”

Judgment remains only for those who have refused the light of the gospel: “The judgment consists in this, that the light has come into the world; but people loved the darkness more than the light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19).

If you love for the Word of God to come and reveal everything that's in your heart, then you're no longer condemnable. Judgment remains only for those who hide sin and love darkness! You love light, don't you? Then why do you allow yourself this feeling of guilt?

However, you may have been attacked by a temptation that you feel you cannot overcome. Or perhaps you are under a sense of inadequacy, unworthiness, fear that the devil will trip you up and you will not stand.

Then today is the day for you - the day of the revelation of God's love for you! I pray that as you read this sermon, something will stir in the depths of your heart and you'll say, “You're right, Brother David, it's all about me. I don't want to live like this anymore!"

Christians who live with guilt, fear, and condemnation are “not rooted and grounded” in the love of God:

“by faith Christ dwell in your hearts, so that you, rooted and confirmed in love, may comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and depth and height, and understand the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:17-19).

“Rooted and established” here means “founded on a deep and stable foundation of knowing and fully presenting God’s love for you.” In other words, knowing God's love for you is the fundamental truth upon which all other truths must be built!

For example, this is what the fear of the Lord is based on. The holy fear of God is not the fear that He is ready to punish you right away if he catches you in some small offense. No, it is the fear of His holiness, of what is being prepared for those who love darkness more than light!

Our heavenly Father sent His Son to die for our sins and weaknesses. And without knowing and fully understanding this love for you, you will never have a stable, solid foundation!

“That you may understand the love of Christ” The Greek word translated here as “understand” means “to seize swiftly”, “to seize”. Paul wanted to tell us here to take hold of this truth and make it the foundation of our Christian life. He's saying here, "Reach out your spiritual hands and say, 'I own this, this is mine!'

1. God's love for us is tied to His heavenly treasures!

You cannot separate God's treasures from His love. His love is connected with the abundant riches that are in heaven for our use. He gives us everything we need for every crisis in our lives - to help us live victorious lives all the time!

I prayed for weeks, “Lord, I want to know Your heart. I cannot get an explanation of Your love for me in any of the books in my library, or even from the most holy person who has ever lived on earth. This revelation can only come from You. I want to have my personal revelation of Your love - straight from You! I want to see it so clearly that it can even change my walk before You and my service.”

When I prayed, I didn't know what to expect. Will the revelation of His love come, overflowing my soul with a flood of praise? Or will it appear as a great vision that will leave me breathless, or as a manifestation of His nearness? Or will it come as a feeling that I am somehow special in His eyes, or will it be such a real touch of His hand on me that will change me forever?

No, God spoke to me in a very simple little verse, “For God so loved that he gave a Son” (John 3:16). His love is tied to His riches in heaven—His abundant provisions for us!

The Bible says that our love for the Lord is proved by our obedience to Him. But His love for us is revealed in another way - through His giving! You cannot know Him as a loving God until you see Him as a giving God. God so loved us that He put all the treasures, glory and bounty of the Father into His Son Jesus and gave Him to us! Christ is God's gift to us, in whom is hidden everything we need to be overcomers in this life.

“For it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell in Him.” (Colossians 1:19). “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:9-10). In other words, “In Him you have everything you need—everything you need!”

But the problem is that only a few Christians accept what God has to offer. We do not seek or possess the treasures hidden in Christ - and they lie unclaimed in heaven!

What a surprise awaits us when we reach heaven! Then God will show us all the riches prepared by His love for us, and how we have not used them.

We see an example of this in the parable of the prodigal son. This story reveals God's love very deeply and proves that His love for us is connected to His untold riches and contentment!

2. God's love insists that we come to the end of all our human resources and demand His bountiful treasures!

This is the whole point of the parable of the prodigal son. This is the story of two sons: one who came to the end of his resources, and the other who never claimed his father's supplies.

The younger son came to his father and said: “Give me the next part of the estate.” (Luke 15:12). What he received - and wasted thereafter - represents his own qualities: his talents, abilities, everything he used to face life with all its difficulties. He said, “I am intelligent, smart, educated. I can go away and try to live my own way!”

This example reflects the condition of many Christians today. However, when the going gets tough, how soon do we run out of our own supplies! How quickly we are wasting everything we have! We can find a way out of some problems and inner strength for some trials. But there comes a time when hunger strikes the soul!

You come to the end of your strength and do not know where to turn. Your friends cannot help you. You were left devastated and hurt, with nothing inside you to get support from. All your strength is exhausted - all your struggle is over! All that's left is fear, depression, emptiness, hopelessness.

Perhaps you are still wandering around the devil's horned troughs, floundering in the void, starving to death? It happened to the prodigal son. There was nothing left for him to hope for! All his own resources were depleted. And he realized where all his arrogance had led him.

But what finally sobered him up? When did he come to? It happened when he remembered all the abundant riches in his father's house!

He said, “I am starving here. But in my father’s house there is enough bread, even in abundance!” (see Luke 15:17). He decided to go home and take advantage of his father's generous supplies!

The meaning of God's love lies in the Father's invitation to enter and enjoy the food at His feast!

There is not a single word in this parable that says that the prodigal son came back because he loved his father. True, he repented - he fell to his knees, crying: “Father, I am guilty! I have sinned against you and against God. I am not even worthy to enter your house.” But he didn't say, "Father, I'm back because I love you!"

On the contrary, the truth is revealed here that God's love for us is manifested without any conditions, it does not depend on our love for Him. Indeed, He loved us even when we were far from Him in our hearts, were sinners. This is unconditional love!

When the prodigal son returned, his father did not list the entire list of his sins. He didn't say, “Where have you been? How many harlots have you slept with? How much money is left in your wallet? Give me a report!”

No, instead he fell on his neck and kissed him. He told the servants, “Kill the fatted calf! Put new clothes on him, new shoes on his feet and a ring on his hand. And let's celebrate - let's rejoice and have fun!"

Where in this picture is Father's love revealed? In His willingness to forgive? His tender kiss? A fattened calf? Clothes, shoes or a ring?

Of course, these were all expressions of His love, but none of them are complete. “In this is love, that we did not love God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10). “Let us love Him, because He first loved us.” (Article 19).

The full revelation of love is that a father could not have true joy until he made sure that his son was with him again in the banquet hall!

“He brought me into the banqueting house, and his banner over me is love.” (Songs P. 2:4). A father's joy could not be complete until he sat down in the banqueting house with his son, and until he made sure that his boy knew that he was forgiven and his sins washed away. They were to sit at the table - at the feast table of the Lamb!

If you were to look out the window at this moment, you would see a young man who has just received a true revelation of God's love:

Oh He danced for joy! There was music and he laughed and was happy. His father was happy for him, smiling at him!

o He was not under a cloud of fear. He did not listen to the ancient lie: “You will return again to this pig trough! You're not worthy of that kind of love.” Oh no, he accepted forgiveness and heeded his father's word to come in and take what he needed.

o He heard his father whisper to him, “All that is mine is yours. You don't have to go hungry ever again. You don't need to be lonely anymore, beggarly, cut off from My storerooms.”

Beloved, this is the fullness of God's love, its very essence! It lies in the fact that even in our dark hours, God not only does not shame us and does not remind us of the past, but, on the contrary, says: “Bring here a fatted calf, we will eat and be merry! A feast is always prepared in My house for My beloved!”

Today we have an even better promise: “And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. But to Him Who, by His power working in us, can do incomparably more than what we ask or think about” (Eph. 3:19-20).

This is what God's love for us is: “I offer you a transcendent, overflowing fullness — everything you need for every crisis, joy for every moment of your life. Come to My pantries and take!”

At the same time, the eldest son was in the field, working hard, doing the work assigned by his father, and, returning from work, he suddenly heard music, laughter, songs. As he got closer to home, he discovered that the whole feast was about the return of his prodigal brother - the one who had squandered his father's estate with harlots, living dissolutely!

When the eldest son looked out the window, he saw his father rejoicing over his prodigal son, enjoying the sight of him. He couldn't understand how his bad brother could feel so free, happy and blessed in such a short time! Scripture says of him, "He was angry and would not come in." (Luke 15:28).

Finally, his father came out of the house and urged him to enter. But the eldest son answered: “Behold, I have served you for so many years and have never transgressed your command; but you never gave me a kid to have fun with my friends.” (Luke 15:29). That is, he said: “This is not fair! All these years I have served you well. And never disobeyed you, not once.”

Oh, how many of us are like a big brother! We spend years trying our best to please our Lord, living a life of perseverance to always do the right thing! This also applies to me to a large extent, because very often I was outside the house, looking inside what was happening there.

See, I've known the Lord all my life. I have never been in the world. I never smoked a cigarette, never touched drugs, never lived in fornication. I tried to live for the Lord.

Sometimes I saw a new convert come back home to Jesus, someone who used to live in sin. When he returned, he suddenly began to dance, rejoice - happy and free! He came to Christ with simple faith and no longer had any sense of guilt, condemnation, or memories of the past. Everything was new to him! God seemed to be smiling at him!

Then I sat down, thinking: “Of course, he is singing and glorifying now, but is he really holy? I have paid the price for my place with God—I have served Him for many years. And I still have burdens, worries. Sometimes I feel the weight of guilt, shame. And here comes this one, dancing! He comes in and goes beyond me with simple faith in God's Word. Lord, this is wrong! He feels so free and my life is so complicated!”

The eldest son, despite all his years of service to his father, never knew true joy, because he never took advantage of his father's invitation to receive everything he needed!

I think the eldest son immediately returned to his shepherd's shack, thinking about the day he would receive his inheritance: “Just wait! Someday, when death has done its work, I will enter into great blessings. I inherit great wealth!” This is an example of a person who thinks to enter heaven and there receive all that is good from God.

His father must have been broken in his heart. I think he repeated to his son over and over again: “My son! You are always with me, and everything that is mine is yours!” (Article 31). In other words, “You have been with me all these years, and everything I have was yours. You know I would give you everything - but you didn't come to get it!"

I ask you: how many years have you been away from home? You have a Father who has prepared great treasures for you. And you haven't claimed them yet!

The parable shows us that the prodigal son received doubly by entering and enjoying his father's treasures. He could continue his earthly life with a generous supply of forgiveness, joy, peace, and all the blessings that were now his. And when death brought him an inheritance, he could fully enjoy what he knew already on earth.

Indeed, the sin of the elder brother, the one who stayed at home, walked in obedience and never transgressed the will of the Father, was greater. Yes, of course, it is a great sin to exchange our Father's property for carnal life and apostasy, but it is an even greater sin to refuse God's great love, i.e. leave unclaimed the supplies He gave us at such a great price!

God's love insists that we stop focusing our attention on our mistakes and sins and instead turn our attention to the riches offered to us in Christ!

No one reproached the prodigal son, did not give him morals, did not remind him of his sin - because God did not allow the reminder of sin to be at the center of the restoration process of his son.

There was true remorse and regret for what had happened. And it was time to enter the banqueting house - for a gala dinner! The father said to his eldest son: “He disappeared, but now he has been found. He is forgiven – and now is the time to rejoice and be happy!”

Are you tired of living like a beggar when you could have been provided with everything you need? Maybe the very object of your attention is chosen incorrectly? You tend to dwell on your weaknesses, temptations, and past failures. And when you look inside your own heart, what you see there disappoints you. You allow guilt to seep into your consciousness.

Beloved, you must look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith! When the devil comes and points out some weakness in your heart, you have every right to say, “My Father already knows all of this—and yet He loves me! He gave me everything I needed to get the victory and keep it.”

“For if (our) heart condemns us, how much more so does God, because God is greater than our heart and knows everything.” (1 John 3:20). He knows everything about you, but He continues to love you and says, “Come and get everything you need. The pantries are open!”

Verily, the doors to His storehouses are wide open, and His riches overwhelm them. God encourages you: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16).

Here's what you need to enter His treasury and get everything you need:

1. Come boldly to His throne and ask without hesitation for all the mercy and grace you need to get through all the temptations and trials. The devil has a million ways to make you feel guilty, fearful, condemned, and embarrassed. And he will tell you: “You feel this way because there is a lot of garbage in your heart!” But I stopped looking into my heart a long time ago because it's always black. And yet it is white in the eyes of my Father - because it is covered with the blood of the Lamb!

It doesn't matter what you feel. Just look in the Word of God what Jesus did. He wiped clean the record of your sins!

2. Remind God that it was His idea for you to come. You didn't come to the Lord saying, "Father, I want everything You have!" No, He invited you, saying, “All I have is yours. Come and take it!”

3. Come to God with faith in His Word. The Bible says that everything He has for us is accomplished by faith. All you have to do is say in faith, “Lord Jesus, fill me with Your peace—because You said it was mine! I ask for rest for my soul!”

You cannot do this yourself. You cannot beg for it or take it with songs. No, it comes when you are rooted and grounded in the revelation of God's love for you. It does not come in feelings, but in the Word that He Himself said: “There is plenty of bread in My house – even in abundance!”

4. Take God's Word and break all your fear, guilt and condemnation into pieces! Renounce all this, it is not from God! You can say, “Let the devil come to me with his lies. My Father already knows all this, but He has forgiven and cleansed me. So there is no more guilt or condemnation for me. I am free!"

Dear believer, I believe that if you ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand this truth right now so that you can be strengthened and grounded in it, the coming days will be the greatest of your life. You can say, “Lord Jesus, I know I will make mistakes. But nothing will shake me, because You have everything I need to get the victory and live in it!”

Come to His treasury and claim all that is yours from your loving Father! Hallelujah!

Priest John Pavlov

30. About love for God and neighbor

It is common for young people to dream of great and bright love, they are looking forward to the coming of this holiday on their street. To love and be loved is an important need of every person, regardless of his social status and beliefs. This is how God created us, and even the fall into sin did not eliminate this need.

Unfortunately, true love is scarce in a sinful world. The more it is written and sung about it, the less it becomes in the world. Modern mass culture only increases this deficit, presenting love as a mundane and mundane thing, free from such valuable qualities as emotional attachment, loyalty, responsibility, self-sacrifice. It is not for nothing that she applies the formal expression “making love” to human relations, as if it were a question of playing sports. So they fulfill their carnal needs with anyone and at any time. These primitive attitudes are introduced into the minds of young people through films, obscene magazines, amorous adventures of sports and screen stars. All this pushes people to love not another person, but their own pleasure. Such love does not bloom for a long time. She is before the first frost.

A couple I know lived happily in a civil marriage until the partner became seriously ill. And then the holiday ended, love evaporated, and the guy escorted his cohabitant out of his apartment to make room for another. This is the result of a relationship based on getting pleasure.

For Christians, true love is a serious matter. Perhaps that is why in the Orthodox Church, crowns are put on the heads of those who are getting married, as a reminder of the vocation to a moral feat? I would like to discuss a number of reasons for taking love as a serious matter. Knowing them will help you prepare yourself for married life.

1. Love is a serious matter, because it should glorify God !

Scripture very categorically commands: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, [do] everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). This command also applies to love relationships. If love does not glorify God, if it is a “cure” for boredom, if it is filled with sexual preoccupation, then it is sinful! For love to glorify God, it must come from Him. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). Therefore, expect this gift not from yourself, but from the Lord! Pray for him!

How does love glorify God? It glorifies God if it is likened to His love - unconditional, sacrificial, faithful and holy. Thanks to her, a person becomes "not good for a mile, but nice for a good one." (L. Tolstoy)

Many years ago I had to talk to a girl who was about to get married. She was sad. “I'm sure God wants me to marry this guy, but I don't have feelings for him. What should I do?" I said, “If God calls you to marriage, He will give you love. Ask Him for it!” We knelt down and the girl sincerely asked God for the gift of love. It didn't take long before I realized from their radiant faces that love from God had visited her heart. And to this day they glorify God with their relationship.

2. Love is a serious matter, because it is dedicated to serious things.

People live in a world of fiction when they mistake enthusiastic feelings for love. It is clear that living on an emotional upsurge is more interesting than with an ordinary course of life. But the pursuit of pleasant sensations is meaningless. Life is very complicated, it does not so much caress us as beats us. Only true love can withstand her blows. The Apostle Paul describes it from the side of everyday affairs: “Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, is not proud, does not behave violently, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything. Love never ceases, even though prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Each of these qualities of true love confirms its calling - not only to give, but also to receive. Isn't that the secret of its stability?

I often ask young people who come for a consultation: “Why do you want to get married?” (I have never heard them confess: “Fulfill the commandment be fruitful and multiply!” Usually I hear in response:

- We love each other, why not get married?

- Well, continue to love each other, why marry?

- Yes, I want to have children ...

- Take the children from the orphanage to bring up and make them happy!

Seeing that the young are confused, I explain: “Godly marriage has one important goal - service. If you want to get married just to receive, you will be disappointed. Marry to give! The Bible commands: "Serve one another with love!"

One God-fearing man, together with his young wife, went on a honeymoon trip during which a misfortune happened: lightning hit his wife, and she was forever bedridden. She could not be left alone for more than two hours. If that person's love had been set up for gain, it would have collapsed under the weight of problems. What is the use of a wife who cannot cook food, wash clothes, clean the house, take care of her husband, give children? Wouldn't it be better to consider such a marriage an unfortunate mistake and terminate it? However, the servant of God was determined to love biblically! For 38 years he selflessly cared for the sick and at the same time taught at the seminary. You don’t know what difficulties God will take your love through, but if it is set to serve, you will never be disappointed!”

3. Love is a serious matter, because the consequences of its collapse are serious.

Your choice will attract the attention of many people and your parents in the first place. The Bible says: "Honor your father and mother, and it will be good for you on earth." In this situation, to honor your father and mother means to initiate them into your intentions, it means to ask them to pray for the successful development of your relationship. The blessing of your parents will mean a lot to you, because they, like no one else, are interested in your welfare. They will be spent on gifts, decorate the wedding hall, prepare a feast and give good wishes during the wedding. They care whether you are happy or unhappy, whether you use their help to build a family or nullify their efforts. Don't disappoint them! If you don't keep your happiness, they will worry a lot about it.

Also, many relatives and friends will watch your love. They will rejoice at your good, and grieve at your misfortune. Therefore, for the sake of the peace of your fathers and mothers, your relatives and friends, do not play love!

If your love is in vain, it will be bad for you. You will suffer from anger, bitterness, depression. The pain of rejection can destroy you mentally.

Once I met a man who turned to everyone he met with the same question: “Will you love me?”. At first I dismissed this strange guy, but then I thought: why did this particular question torment him? Most likely, the experienced rejection left a heavy mark on his psyche, and she, unable to stand it, broke down ...

The pain of rejection can lead to rash decisions. I know cases when, in retaliation for the guy who left her, the girl agreed to marry the first person she met and this ruined her life and him.

The pain of rejection can destroy a person physically. When Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther came out, a wave of suicides swept through Germany, for in the story of Werther's passionate love for Lotte, young people reflected their own experiences. And the suicide of the protagonist prompted many to a terrible thought: when you cannot be with your loved one, you are an outcast, and it is better for an outcast not to live.

If love affects such a wide range of people, and has such dire consequences in the event of a collapse, how can it not be considered a serious matter!

4. Love is a serious matter, because God hates to leave it.

Love leads people to marriage, but it will never lead them back to its destruction. The loss of love is a crime: “But I have against you this, that you have left your first love” (Rev. 2:4). Christ taught: “Have you not read that He who first created male and female created them? And he said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. So what God has joined together, let no man separate. They say to Him: how did Moses command to give a bill of divorce and divorce her? He says to them: Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to divorce your wives, but at first it was not so; but I say to you: whoever divorces his wife not for adultery, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. His disciples say to him: if such is the duty of a man to his wife, then it is better not to marry. He said to them: Not everyone can receive this word, but to whom it has been given” (Mat. 19:4-11).

Christ speaks very directly and seriously: divorce is sinful, for it marks the beginning of the gravest sin - adultery. Even the disciples were amazed by such radicalism of Christ, and they decided: it is better not to marry. Before these words of Christ, divorce was easier, after them it became very difficult. Christ did not intend to unreasonably complicate our lives, He simply brought us back to the original ideal of marriage. For all the dissimilarity of the habits and characters of the spouses, for all their problems, God considers them one, indissoluble whole. To divorce means to cut down on the living. To divorce means to raise your hand to the masterpiece of God's creation. The creator of marriage participates in the marital union: “what God has combined, that man must not separates." Only death can separate spouses!

There is one non-canon story. One day a couple came to the pastor. Husband says:

- We decided to get a divorce. You combined us, you will separate us!

- Well, said the pastor, you will be divorced, but only in the biblical way!

He put them on their knees, picked up a heavy Bible and began to beat her husband on the head with it.

- You will kill me! the man shouted.

- It is written, only death can separate you!

5. Love is a serious matter, because it places a serious responsibility on people.

Marriage entails a series of serious matters: building relationships, having and raising children, and providing for the family. God places on a man the responsibility of the head of the family, who must solve with wisdom all sorts of problems that life brings in abundance. The head is not the same as the ringleader and the family is not the same as the gang. The leader will punish the offender, and the leader will correct him. The leader can kill, the leader will heal. Unfortunately, many men behave like leaders at home. They do not realize that they are called to a different style of relationship.

Scripture calls on husbands to imitate Christ: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, to sanctify her, having cleansed her with a bath of water through the word; to present her to Himself as a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or anything like that, but that she might be holy and blameless. Thus ought husbands to love their wives as their bodies: he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and warms it, just as the Lord does the Church” (Eph. 5:25-29).

Husbands should follow Christ's example in His sequence of work on the church: first sacrificial love, and then the word of edification, reproof, comfort. Husbands have a different sequence - first a word, and then, if the wife is obedient, love. The real head imitates Christ and does not follow the worldly way of life.

6. Love is a serious matter, because Satan is fighting against it.

This evil genius knows perfectly well that marriage is built on love, and love makes marriage a type of relationship between Christ and the church. He hates everything that comes from God and that glorifies God, and desperately tries to destroy it. At the dawn of human history, he destroyed the happiness of Adam and Eve and continues to this day on earth his dirty work. One example of Satan's wiles is the substitution of passion for love. He knows how to inflame carnal thoughts and feelings: "And Satan rose up against Israel, and stirred up David to number Israel" (1 Chronicles 21:1). Blinded by carnal love, spiritually and psychologically incompatible people marry and maim each other.

One young man once told me with delight:

- Pastor! I have never been as happy as now! I fell in love with a girl!

- Is your girlfriend a believer?

- No, but she's very good! We understand each other perfectly! We have deep feelings for each other!

— The Word of God forbids marriages with unbelievers!

- But she's very good!

- If you are a believer, you will create many problems for her. She will want to go to the theater on Sunday, but you will go to church - that's the reason for the conflict. You want to raise children in a Christian spirit, and she prefers in a secular one - here's another reason for disagreement. You will be responsible for her misfortune.

Saddened by my answer, the handsome young man went on his way. Two years later he came back to the church to repent of his sin in contrition of heart. His life turned out badly. Satan managed to deceive him with carnal love. In this sense, the Russian proverb is right: "love is evil, you will love a goat."

Another manifestation of Satan's machinations is instilling in people the idea of the right to happiness. The person argues: “Marriage should bring me pleasure, and if it doesn’t bring me pleasure, I have the right to terminate it and look for new happiness!” Clive Lewis wrote about this: “Recognizing the “right to happiness” (in this area), before which all ordinary norms of behavior are nothing, we think not about what actually happens, but about what we imagine when we in love. Troubles are quite real, and happiness, for the sake of which they are endured and created, again and again turns out to be illusory. Everyone, except Mr. M. and Mrs. N., sees that in another year Mr. M. will have the same reasons to leave his new wife. He will realize again that everything is at stake. He will fall in love again, and self-pity will replace pity for the woman.”

7. Love is a serious matter, because it has to endure the shortcomings of its neighbor. .

Two imperfect people enter into marriage, two egoists, expecting all sorts of blessings from each other. The spouses quickly get used to the positive qualities of each other, they begin to annoy the shortcomings. Unfulfilled expectations give rise to disappointment, disappointment - anger, anger - resentment and revenge. All these emotions live latently in a person and break out during moments of quarrels.

The hero of the story L.N. Tolstoy's "Kreutzer Sonata" Pozdnyshev, in a confession to a random fellow traveler, expressed the problem of psychological incompatibility common to many families. “There was nothing to talk about. Everything that could be said about the life that awaited us, the device, plans, was said, and then what? ... Together we were almost doomed to silence or to such conversations that, I am sure, animals can conduct among themselves: ? It's time to sleep. What is lunch today? Where to go? What is in the newspaper? Send for a doctor. Masha's throat hurts." It was worth stepping out of this impossibly narrowed circle of conversations by a hair's breadth for irritation to flare up. Skirmishes and expressions of hatred over coffee, a tablecloth, a cab, for a move in a screw came out - all things that could not be of any importance to either one or the other. In me, at least, terrible hatred for her often boiled! I sometimes watched how she poured tea, waved her foot or brought a spoon to her mouth, sloshed, drew liquid into herself, and hated her precisely for this, as for the most evil deed ... With her brother, with friends, with her father, I remember, I quarreled, but never between us was that special, poisonous malice that was here.

To endure material deprivation is much easier than marital estrangement. We have a hard time because of our own shortcomings. But when they get married, they double. Can they be endured without God's love? Only serious love is capable of such serious work!

8. Love is a serious matter because it requires a holy life.

Almost everywhere on their wedding day, young couples consider it their duty not to bypass the church. It’s not that they love her with all their heart and mind, they just need a blessing so that their efforts and expended material resources do not go to waste. When I look at such couples, I think: “God! How do You tolerate being manipulated by Your grace? Before marriage, people do not even think of seeking Your will, and only at the time of marriage do they selfishly remember You as a benefactor!” But will God let them use Himself? Does He not see these shameful motives? The Bible says that God “will reward every man according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in good deeds seek glory, honor, and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are stubborn and do not obey the truth, but give themselves up to iniquity, wrath and wrath” (Rom. 2:6-8).

God gives true love to those who never neglect Him, who seek His will and are dedicated to His Word and ministry.

9. Love is a serious matter, because the conditions for marriage are serious.

I am often asked: when can you fall in love? I answer: you can’t be friends “just like that”, friendship should lead to marriage. But for its construction, certain conditions are necessary: physical maturity, which develops by adulthood, spiritual maturity, which is formed later, a profession that would ensure the financial well-being of the family, as well as the availability of housing. You should not be guided by the proverb “With a sweetheart, paradise is in a hut”, in our time there is nowhere to put a hut - the land belongs to someone. Renting an apartment with a low income is not possible. So the age limit for marriage - whether we like it or not - is pushed back to a later time than it was before. That is why the time before marriage should be used to get an education, a profession. Do not burn it in computer games or useless parties.

And the last condition for the beginning of "friendship": knowing your time. The Bible says that every thing has a time under the sun. Christ came into the world at a certain time, at a certain time He died for the ungodly, at a certain time He rose again. His example is a model for all of us. A person should know that his time has come from the Lord to create a family. And when there is knowledge, one should pray that God will send love to some girl. And here it is important to be attentive to the actions of God. After all, before giving Eve to Adam, God led animals in front of him, and in none of them did Adam see an equal helper. So, when searching for the second half, “animals on two legs” can be caught, and God forbid you avoid the temptation to make friends with them.

Our church device helps you with the choice of a life partner. Girls attend church, small groups, participate in various church events and you can unobtrusively look at them. If you liked the girl, and at the same time she has the fear of God, loves the Scriptures, is dedicated to good deeds, shows a good character, then after prayers and an “external observation” conducted, invite her to a cafe and invite her to meet and pray for the development of relations. If you get her consent, then go to her parents, ask for blessings to meet with their daughter and watch the dynamics of the relationship. If your sympathy for her grows, you are interested in communicating with her, and you realize that you cannot live without her, then contact the pastor of the church for premarital counseling. It may take up to six months. If the conversations with the counselor go well, and love does not decrease from them, then ask to be introduced to the church as a bride and groom, and boldly prepare for marriage.

As for you, dear sisters, my advice to you will be simple: do not try to attract the attention of the brothers with all kinds of outfits and an abundance of paint on the eyes and lips. Remember the Russian proverb that they are looking for a bride not in a round dance, but in a garden. Work for Christ wherever possible, participate in all Christian fellowships, and there the Lord will show you to your fiance.

Some preachers teach that a believing young man and woman should not meet before marriage and discuss issues of the future life, it is enough for them to know the will of God, get married, and then life will teach everything. I do not agree with this approach. Under the guidance of mentors, we learn to work on a computer, learn to operate a car, while marital relationships are much more complicated and also require learning. Indeed, in the process of training with a counselor, typical problems of marriage are spoken out, and when they arise in family life, the young will not fall into despair: “Alas! We're gone!" They will remember: “But we were told that we would face this circumstance, and they offered a biblical way to resolve it. Everything is fine with us, we are growing in relationships, let's try to act biblically!

In passing, I note: during the period of courtship, relationships that belong only to marriage are unacceptable - hugs and kisses. Christians must first develop spiritual relationships, without which marriage will be empty and painful. The physical will follow them, but in due time.

10. Love is serious business because God takes marriage vows seriously.

Someone said that conjugal love is the most powerful proof of the existence of God. Only He could invent and give people such a pleasant relationship. Blind evolution, if it existed, would never have thought of this before! Unfortunately, our society is increasingly practicing civil marriages in which people do not bind themselves with any promises. “Let’s live together while we live, but if it doesn’t work out, we’ll part!” Such a relationship has nothing to do with marriage, for there is no commitment to each other. People come together not out of love, but out of calculation. They do not trust each other and allow the possibility of the collapse of their relationship.

True love is not afraid to bind itself with promises, but willingly makes them. God attaches great importance to marriage vows. He rejoices in fidelity in marriage and exacts for infidelity. I will quote a modern translation from the book of the prophet Malachi:

“You ask: “Why does the Lord not accept our gifts?” Because the Lord saw how you sinned, and He is a witness against you. He saw you cheat on your wife. You married this woman in your youth. She was your beloved friend, and then she became a lawful wife, and the Lord was a witness to this. God wants husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit so that they can have offspring. So protect this spiritual union. Do not be treacherous against your wife, she became your wife when you were still young” (Mal. 2:14,15).

God has taken marriage under His protection, and if a person has made a promise of fidelity, he must fulfill it, no matter how difficult it may be. The Bible teaches: “When you make a vow to God, do not hesitate to fulfill it, because He does not favor fools: fulfill what you have promised. It is better for you not to promise than to promise and not fulfill” (Eccl. 5:3,4).

The seriousness of love is directly related to the seriousness of earthly life. We walk on the edge of a blade - the world, the flesh and the devil are constantly attacking us. It's so easy to get off course, to mistake infatuation for love, passion for God's guidance. To pass these dangerous rocks, one must trust in His ways. He knows how and when to send a friend of life. Only He can bestow serious love!

And I want, but I am unable to love people:

I am a stranger among them; closer to the heart of friends -

Stars, sky, cold, blue distance

And forests and deserts mute sadness ...

I won't get bored listening to the noise of the trees,

In the dusk of the night I can watch until the morning

And about something so sweet, madly sob,

Like the wind is my brother, and the wave is my sister,

And the damp earth is my dear mother ...

Meanwhile, I can't live with the wave and the wind,

And I'm afraid not to love anyone all my life.

Is my heart forever dead?

Give me strength, Lord, to love my brothers!

D.S. Merezhkovsky

(From a conversation with the youth of the Church "Transfiguration")

Seal

Also interesting:

Fruits and vegetables delicious dishes

Cooking homemade lasagna according to the best recipes Store-bought lasagna dough

Tomatoes in tomato juice - the most delicious

We recommend reading:

2022-05-16 20:27:01

Why bats can dream

2022-05-16 20:27:01

How to make gelatin jelly

2022-05-16 20:27:01

A proven conspiracy to make a guy fall in love with you forever How to make a man fall in love with you with your behavior

Continuing the topic:

Adviсe

Profitability and Efficiency of Lemonade Production in a Mini Plant

Engineering LLC sells complex lemonade bottling lines designed according to individual specifications of manufacturing plants. We manufacture equipment for...