ЛЮБОВЬ БОЖИЯ К ЛЮДЯМ

Imagining the humanity of our Lord, let us not be negligent, but first of all and most of all, let us take care of ourselves, cleanse the filth of sin, and then turn to the intercession of the saints. However, if we want to be sober and awake, then our own prayers for ourselves will bring us the greatest benefit. Our Lord loves mankind, and he does not listen so much when others pray to Him for us, as when we ourselves [pray for ourselves]. Pay attention to the greatness of His goodness. He sees that we have fallen, been dishonored, and have no boldness [before Him]; but when we rebel even a little and decide to resort to the riches of His love for mankind, He immediately heeds our petitions, stretches out His hand to us, prostrate, lifts up the fallen and cries out: “Do they not rise when they fall?..” (Jer. 8:4) (1). I ask you to notice the wisdom of God: in order to show the righteous that He, the Creator of nature, can make the impossible possible, that in the beginning He, by His command, aroused the earth to grow fruits, [God] did so that the righteous received a hundredfold fruit from what he sown on that land, which brought him into greater prosperity, so that he no longer needed anything, and he showed those (the inhabitants of Gerar) by the very act of what help the righteous enjoy from above. The well-skilled and wise [Lord] often benefits His chosen ones with the same deeds, and also gives the erring ones a means to know the power of His Providence. He did this later in Egypt, when he brought executions on its inhabitants, but kept the people of Israel unharmed. [The Egyptians] not only in the wrath of God against them, but also in the Providence of God for those [Israelites], learned to know the power of God and the Creator of all things. But these, in turn, not only from the providence and care of God for them, but also from the very spectacle of the executions that befell Egypt every day, understood the wondrous love of God for them. Thus, by the same deeds, He demonstrated the greatness of His power both to His own and to His opponents. And the elements themselves render service and obedience to the servants [of God] when the Master favors them. This can be seen through experience in the life of this righteous man [Isaac]: what at other times the nature of the earth did not show, now it produces according to the will of God of all kinds and bears such fruit that Isaac suddenly becomes very rich: the Lord blessed him. “And the man became great and increased more and more until he became very great” (Gen. 26:13). Since the wealth of the righteous then consisted in the fruitfulness of the land and the large number of herds, it is said: “The Lord blessed him” (Gen. 26:12). And the man became great, that is, he became rich, and not just rich, but more and more to the point that he became very great. Think how much it meant to receive a hundredfold fruit from what was sown. If this seems important to you, then know the even greater power of God’s love for mankind, which later he showed to those living virtuously after His Coming [to earth]. He promises them not only to reward them here a hundredfold, but also to let them enjoy eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven. Do you see the generosity of the Lord? Do you see the greatness of the good deed? Do you see how much the Coming of the Only Begotten has given us? What unspeakable change did it make in the affairs [of our lives]? Therefore, everyone, reasoning about this with himself and seeing the difference between what [God] promised to those who lived before grace, and what - after grace, let him at least glorify God’s boundless love for mankind, and let him not attribute everything only to the change of times (1). The root of all goodness is love; That’s why He destroys everything that can harm love, and tries in every way to unite us with each other. Truly, absolutely no one - neither father, nor mother, nor friend, nor anyone else loves us as much as God who created us. And this is especially evident both from His daily blessings and from His commandments. If you point out to me illnesses, sorrows and other disasters of life, then think how much you insult Him every day - and then you will not be surprised if even greater disasters befall you; on the contrary, you will begin to marvel and be amazed when you happen to enjoy any good (6). God has no need for us and, however, does not cease to love us, and we desperately need Him, but we do not accept His love, preferring to Him money, human friendship, bodily peace, power and glory, while He does not prefer anything to us. He alone had the only begotten and beloved Son, and He did not spare Him for your sake, but we prefer many things to Him. So, isn’t it right that we are threatened with Gehenna and punishment, even if they were twice, three times, even a thousand times more terrible? What can we say in response when we prefer the commandments of Satan to the laws of Christ and are negligent about our salvation, preferring deeds of wickedness to the One who endured everything for us? And what excuse does all this deserve? What excuse? None. Let us finally stand firm, not being carried away along the rapids, let us come to our senses and, having thought about all this, let us give glory to God through deeds, because words alone are not enough (11). Isaiah praised the Seraphim, attributing to them great virtue, since they stand near the glory of God, and this was a sign of the greatest love. So, let us also imitate the powers on high and try not only to stand near the throne, but also to be a dwelling place for Him who sits on the throne. He loved those who hated and does not cease to love: “He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Love the one who loves, because He also loves. Why, you ask, did this lover threaten with hell, punishment and torment? Because He Himself loves, because, cutting off your guile and fear, as if by some kind of bridle, keeping you from striving for the worst, He does and undertakes everything, both by pleasant and regrettable means, to stop you in your rapid fall, to bring you to yourself and distract you from any vice that is worse than Gehenna (11). You might be interested in: