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If we truly love the Lord, we will fulfill His commandments and will not do anything that could irritate the Beloved. To be worthy of loving Him sincerely and as one should, this is the Kingdom of Heaven, this is the taste of bliss, and in this there are innumerable benefits. And our love for Him will be sincere when, out of love for Him, we show love to our neighbors - “on these two commandments,” He said, “all the law and the prophets are based” (Matthew 22:40), that is, in loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our strength, with all our thoughts, and our neighbor as ourselves. This is the main of all virtues, this is the basis of all the commandments of God. With love for God, love for one’s neighbor is itself united, because whoever loves God will not despise his brother, will not prefer wealth to his fellow member, but will do him every kind of good, remembering Him who said: “just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Thinking that the Lord of all will appropriate for himself the services rendered to his neighbor, he will do everything with great zeal and show all his generosity in mercy, looking not at the wretchedness of the person who appears to him, but at the greatness of the One who promises to appropriate to himself what is done for the poor. Let us not ignore, I ask you, this benefit of our souls, this healing for our ulcers. This healing will be of the greatest benefit to us: it will so close the wounds of our soul that no trace, no sign of them will remain. In relation to bodily wounds, this is impossible, because even if someone applies thousands of medicines compiled by doctors to his wound, a scar will certainly remain on the body; and this must be so, since the body is healed here. But here, when the soul is healed, then everyone, if he shows his own good disposition, experiences a great change for the better, all the scabs disappear, like dust from a strong wind. The Holy Scriptures are filled with such examples. Thus, blessed Paul, from a persecutor, became an apostle, and the one who first destroyed the Church, then became her leader (1). Where worldly gain presents itself, we willingly decide to endure everything, whether it be hard work or any other difficulty, whether shame or punishment, temporary or even eternal, threatens us. But in order to save ourselves, in order to gain favor from above, we are weak, careless, and relaxed. What condescension will we have, what justification for us in such complete carelessness, when we do not want to show to God and such love as the righteous man had for the girl, and moreover, when we see such great benefits shown to us and still sent down every day? We are so ungrateful. But Paul was not like that: he was so ardent in spirit, so burning with love for God that, expressing himself in words worthy of his soul, he said: “Who will separate us from the love of God?..” (Rom. 8:35). Look, what expressiveness is in this saying, what power of the dominant feeling of the soul, what fiery love! Who will excommunicate us - that is, can there be anything that would deprive us of the love of God, be it something visible or invisible? (1) Is there, tell me, anything in human things that one could boast about? Is it bodily strength? But it does not constitute a dignity that depends on our will, and therefore we cannot boast about it; Moreover, it soon weakens and is lost, and often even serves to the detriment of those who have it and those who use it differently than they should. The same must be said about beauty and good looks, about wealth and power, about luxury and about all everyday objects. But praise from God and love in Him - this is the adornment that is best - this is the distinction that surpasses thousands of diadems, even if the one worthy of it is in chains. This decoration does not diminish either from illness, or from old age, or from changes in circumstances, or from unfavorable times, or from death itself, but then becomes even more brilliant (2). If those who are captivated by physical beauty do not feel pleasure from anything else in life, but strive for only one thing - to see their favorite object, then can one who loves God, as he should love, feel anything pleasant or sad in real life? It can’t - nothing; he is above all this, enjoying immortal pleasure, because such is the object of his love. Those who love something else soon and against their will forget their beloved objects, as they wither and die; and this love is boundless, immortal, gives the highest joy and great benefit and thereby inspires the lover even more, which is never destroyed (2). Let no one say to me: how can I love God Whom I do not see? And we love many without seeing them, such as, for example: absent friends, children, parents, relatives and family, and the fact that we do not see them does not at all serve as an obstacle, but this is the most special thing that ignites love and strengthens affection. That is why Paul, speaking about Moses, that he, leaving treasures, wealth, royal glory and all other Egyptian honors, decided rather to suffer with the Jews, and then, showing us the reason for this is that he did all this for God, adds: “as if seeing the Invisible” (Heb. 11:27). You do not see God, but you see His creation, you see His works - heaven, earth, sea. And whoever loves, when he sees the work of his beloved, or shoes, or clothes, or anything else, he is inflamed with love. You do not see God, but you see His servants and friends, that is, holy men and those who have boldness before Him. Serve them now and you will have no small consolation for your love. And between people we usually love not only our friends, but also those whom they love. If one of our loved ones says: I love so-and-so and I consider every benefit shown to him as done to me, then we do everything and try in every possible way to please this person, as if we see in him the most beloved. The same can now be done in relation to Christ. He said: I love the poor, and if they receive any benefit, I will repay the same as if I had received it myself. Let us do everything to alleviate their lot, or, better, let us spend all our property on them, believing that in their person we feed God. And that in fact, by feeding them, we feed God Himself, about this, listen to what Christ says: “For I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was naked, and you clothed Me” (Matthew 25:35, 36); and He gives us many opportunities to satisfy our love (2). How can one who is in sickness and torment give thanks to the Lord? If you love Him sincerely. If the three youths thrown into the cave, and the others who were in bonds and in countless other calamities, did not cease to give thanks, then all the more can those who are sick and overcome with serious illnesses do this. After all, no, there really is nothing that love cannot motivate. And when the love of God manifests itself, it is above all, and neither fire, nor sword, nor poverty, nor illness, nor death, nor anything else is terrible for the one who uses this love; laughing at everything, he will begin to soar to the sky and his spiritual mood will be no lower than those living in heaven; he will not look at anything else, neither at heaven, nor at earth, nor at sea, but will be directed towards the beauty of heavenly glory alone; just as the sorrows of this life will not be able to humiliate him, so earthly goods and pleasures will not be able to elevate him and make him arrogant. So, let us also love this love (after all, there is nothing equal to it) both for the sake of the present and for the sake of the future, or better yet, for the sake of the very nature of this love, because we will get rid of punishments both in this life and in the next century and will achieve the Kingdom. But, in addition to deliverance from Gehenna and the acquisition of the Kingdom, something else important needs to be mentioned; above all this is to love Christ and to be loved by Him. If among people mutual love is valued above any pleasure, then what word, what thought can depict the bliss of a soul that loves God and is dear to Him? This bliss can only be known through experience. Therefore, in order to experience such spiritual joy, a blessed life and a treasure of innumerable blessings, we, leaving everything, will begin to seek this love both for our own joy and for the glory of our beloved God (11). Although our soul is closest to us, God puts it in second place in relation to love for Himself, since He wants us to love Him above all measure. And we, when we are not strongly disposed towards someone, do not demand strong affection from him, even if he were great and famous; when we love someone ardently and sincerely, then, even if the loved one was simple and insignificant, we consider his mutual love to be the greatest honor for ourselves. So Christ counted it to Himself not only to be loved by us, but also to endure reproach for us. But that was glory because of His love alone, and what we endure for His sake can truly be called and indeed is glory not only because of love alone, but also because of the greatness and dignity of the One we love (11). You only need one thing - to love Him sincerely, and everything else will follow by itself. Just as for those who love God, what is apparently harmful is turned into benefit, so for those who do not love Him, even what is beneficial is harmful. Everything served to the detriment of the Jews - the manifestation of miracles, the correctness of dogmas, and the wisdom of teaching; for one thing they called Christ mad, for another, ungodly, and for miracles they attempted to kill Him. On the contrary, the thief who was crucified, nailed, reviled, enduring countless sufferings, not only did not suffer any harm, but also received the greatest benefit from it (11). You might be interested in: