77. Светильник

Like a lamp in a house, so is living faith in the human heart. The lamp is lit by a person. The lamp of faith is lit by the Holy Spirit through the heard word of God, according to what is written: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). When the lamp in the house burns and shines, everything is clear in the house, those living in it see everything, those walking do not stumble, and everyone does his job, because the lamp illuminates. Thus, when the lamp of faith shines in the heart, a person clearly sees everything spiritual: the invisible God as visible, and other invisible things as visible, he sees and does deeds befitting the Christian calling. When there is no lamp in the house, the house is dark. Thus, when there is no lamp of faith in the human heart, there is nothing else there but darkness and all kinds of error. So that the burning lamp in the house does not go out, oil must be added. So that the lamp of faith in the heart does not go out, one must: 1) Read or listen and talk about the word of God and other Christian books. 2) Pray diligently to God. 3) Communicate the Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ. 4) Do works of mercy. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). The signs of the lamp of faith burning in the human heart in Holy Scripture are the following: 1) Such a person reads or listens to the word of God, and diligently studies in it. 2) He calls on God with all his heart, prays and thanks Him for all his good deeds. 3) With all zeal he tries to live worthy of the title of Christian and the Gospel. 4) He shows his faith in God by good deeds, as the apostle demands: “Show me your faith by your works” (James 2:18). 5) He is wary of all sin, and fights against all sin, and does not allow it to take possession of him. 6) He lives in this world as a wanderer and stranger and always raises his heart’s eyes to the heavenly Fatherland and sighs, and therefore does not cling to worldly things with his heart, but uses everything with fear and out of need. Nothing in this world brings such joy, except God alone and the hope of eternal life. 7) A clear sign of the lamp of faith burning in the human heart is spiritual joy, felt in the heart, joy in the Holy Spirit, joy in God, which is depicted in the psalms: “My heart and my flesh rejoiced in the Living God” (Ps. 83:3), for where there is faith in God, there is love for God; Where there is love for God, there is joy in God; what we love, we rejoice in. From this it is clear what are the signs of faith that has faded in the human heart, namely: 1) Lawless life, contrary to the word of God. The faith of the fornicator, the adulterer, and everyone who is unclean has faded away. The thief, rapist and robber have lost their faith. The faith of the evil, hating and vengeful man has faded away. The slanderer, the harasser, the reproacher, the slanderer and the scolder have lost their faith. The hypocrite, the deceitful and the flattering, has lost his faith. In a word, every lawless person who does not guard his conscience, but acts against it, has his faith extinguished, and instead of the lamp of faith, there is in them the darkness of ignorance of God. “What does light have in common with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14). Light is faith, darkness is lawless life. What does faith have in common with the darkness of a lawless life? Such, although they pray to God, they pray hypocritically, for “their hearts... are far from God.” The word of God befits them: “This people draws near to Me with their lips, and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8, Isaiah 29:13). 2) Contempt for the word of God and turning away from Him. 3) Abandonment of prayer. 4) Removal from the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Without them, faith cannot exist and be preserved in the human heart. 5) Attachment to temporal things: wealth, honor, glory and luxury. Faith is a heavenly gift, therefore the human heart is distracted from earthly wisdom and moves towards heavenly wisdom. Such a person sins against the apostolic word: “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. Christians who have the lamp of faith burning in their hearts and will have it to the end, will go out to meet the Bridegroom Christ, who came to judge the living and the dead, and with Him they will enter the palace of heaven, like wise virgins: “Be faithful unto death,” having this lamp in you, “and I will give you the crown of life,” says Christ the Lord to you (Rev. 2:10). And those who do not have this lamp in their hearts will not be worthy to meet Christ the King, and will not be allowed into that palace, but will remain outside it and hear from Christ the King: “I do not know you” (Matthew 25:12). Christian, this is a scary word for Christians to hear from Christ: “I don’t know you!” Let us turn to God with all our hearts, and may our lamps be lit by His grace. “Awake, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Eph. 5:14). “Thou shalt enlighten my lamp, O Lord; My God, You will enlighten my darkness” (Ps. 17:29). You might be interested in: