124. Лодка или судно на реке

Like a boat on a river, so is a person in life. We see that the boat floats down the river by itself, but cannot float against the current or up the river. But if it needs to go up the river, it needs strong rowers or a sail with a fair wind to move it. So is man. According to the flesh, according to whims and passions and according to his own evil will, like a corrupt person, he lives by himself and comfortably and easily, just as a ship floats down the river by itself. The human mind is diligently inclined towards evil from its youth (Gen. 8:21). For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy (Matthew 15:19). Our passions and whims are born with us, and therefore it is easy for us to follow them and do their will, and it pleases us, like sailing on a river in a ship. But to live against our own evil will, and to defeat it and to subjugate the will of God, and to stand and fight against whims and passions, and to crucify and kill them, and to live so piously and Christianly, is just as inconvenient and impossible for us as it is for a ship to sail against the current of a river without rowers and sails. From this we see how many books have been written that prohibit the striving of passions; how much preachers work and thunder against the passionate flesh with their words, and frighten man with the judgment of God, and confuse and hold back the fear of temporary and eternal execution; and the person himself, hearing the word, is horrified and embarrassed, and often repents. But, however, at the behest of passions and whims it descends, like a ship rushing down a river. We, Christians, have such a corrupted nature, man has fallen into such meanness and damnation through sin, this wonderful beauty - God's image - has come to such dishonor through the cunning of the devil! What should we do? To live according to whims and passions is contrary to Christianity, the holy faith, and the word of God, and this is a clear misfortune and destruction. We cannot stand and fight against the desire of passions, pacify them and defeat them on our own. It is absolutely necessary for a supernatural force to help us, and to move us, like a ship against the current, and to constantly excite and strengthen us, and to arouse and overcome the desire of passions, and to move our heart towards sighing and heartfelt prayer and other Christian virtues. All this is done by God's grace living in man. With her a person can do anything, without her he can do nothing. God's grace moves a person and admonishes him at any time, and helps him to stand against passions, and overcome them, and live like a Christian, just as oarsmen move a ship against the flow of a river. At every time, every hour and every minute we need God's grace. God's grace is the life of our souls; Without the grace of God the soul cannot be alive. Therefore, we are commanded to pray, ask, seek and knock (Matthew 7:7). So, Christians, we recognize our corruption and poverty, for we go down, and not up, through ourselves - and, having known, let us humble ourselves before the Lord - may He give us His grace. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). You see your physical poverty, why don’t you recognize your spiritual poverty? You are looking for perishable wealth, why don’t you look for the incorruptible and spiritual? You recognize bodily weakness and heal it, why don’t you recognize mental weakness and heal it? You run away from temporary misfortune and death, why don’t you run away from spiritual misfortune and death, which leads to eternal death? You try to be either a skilled philosopher, or a skilled poet, or an eloquent rhetorician, or a wise astrologer, or a skilled land surveyor, or a good architect, or a skilled merchant, or some other artist, why don’t you try to be a true and good Christian? This surpasses any art and wisdom of this age, without this everything is nothing. We need to care most of all about what remains with us forever. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from Me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit (Ps. 50:12–14). You might be interested in: