106. Много я тебе должен

You hear people say to people: “I owe you a lot.” And such words show the gratitude of the heart. People say this to those from whom they have received a lot of goodness, good deeds and help for free. Such words are correct and come from a grateful heart when such things are said not hypocritically, but from heartfelt sincerity. For people should also be grateful to people, their benefactors. Christians! It is all the more fitting for us to thank our God with humility and sincerity of heart and say to Him: “I owe You much, Lord.” And we must bless Him every day, hour and minute, since we constantly receive benefits from the Lord freely. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise is always on my lips (Ps. 33:2). I did not exist, and now I exist and live, like other people. You, Lord, have deigned me to be, and to be considered among the works of Your hands, and to see the works of Your hands - heaven, and earth, and everything that is in them (Ps. 145:6), and from the contemplation of Your great and glorious works, to know You, the great and glorious Creator, and to be satisfied and comforted with Your blessings. Thy hands made me and created me (Ps. 119:73). I owe you a lot for this and I can’t repay you with anything. You did not create me as a soulless creature, not as a cattle, not as a bird, not as a fish, or as some other dumb animal, which all live but do not understand their bliss, but You created me as a rational person, therefore I can know and understand that I have the beginning of my existence and life from You; I am Your creation, You are my Creator. I owe you a lot for this and I can’t repay you in any way. Thus created by You, I cannot be and live without You and Your blessings. Thy hand, O Lord, sustains me and gives me Thy blessings (see Ps. 103:28). I cannot live or move without light: Your lights, the sun, the moon and the stars, shine on me. I cannot live without fire: Your fire warms me and cooks my food. I cannot be alive or healthy without air: Your air revives me and preserves my life. I cannot be without food: Your generous hand, Lord, gives me food. I cannot be without water: Your goodness, Lord, has produced springs, rivers and lakes for me, and with the water from them I quench my thirst and wash myself. I, “naked with richly woven clothing” (Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete), cannot be without clothing: I receive this from Your generous hand. I cannot be without a home: you give me a house for the repose of my weak and poor body. I cannot be without cattle: Your creatures serve and work for me. These and other countless benefits, like other people, my brothers, I also receive from You. I owe you a lot for all this. What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has given me? (Ps. 115:3). What would happen to me if You took at least one of these benefits from me? Would my eyes be of any use to me if Your light did not shine on me? I would certainly wander like a blind man. How could I live if You did not give me Your food? I cannot live without air even for the slightest minute. So every creature of Yours is very good (Gen. 1:25), and serves me poor. But receiving these blessings from You, I expect future and better blessings, according to Your false promise, and from the visible to the invisible, and from the present to the future, and from the temporal to the eternal, and from the earthly to the heavenly, my spirit strives. If in exile and exile you give us such blessings as you will give in your fatherland and your house! And if you so generously open Your hand to those who know You and those who do not know You, those who honor You and those who do not, Your friends and Your enemies, what blessings will those who love You be honored with in eternal life! Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and what God has prepared for those who love Him has not entered into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9). May Thy mercy be upon us, O Lord, as we trust in Thee (Ps. 32:22). I am blind, like others, without Thy grace and enlightenment: my sin has blinded me. Therefore, in this regard, Your goodness, both for everyone and for me, unworthy, humanely took care of. For the enlightenment of both everyone and me, You have sent down Your holy word to us through Your chosen servants and servants. It is for me, like a candle for those sitting in darkness, it shines and shows harm and benefit, evil and good, sin and virtue, lie and truth, what is displeasing to You and pleasing, unbelief and faith, and thus drives away my blindness and enlightens my mind. A lamp for my feet is Your law, and a light for my paths (Ps. 119:105). I owe you a lot for all this, Lord, and I can’t repay you with anything. In Your light I know You, my God and Creator. I see that You have created and are doing glorious and wonderful things, which no human hand or any creature can do. And from Your word I know that You are always the same (Heb. 13:8), working marvelously and gloriously in the world You have created, which You created out of nothing (2Mac. 7:28) - and from all this I know Your almighty power. How to create things out of nothing, and to change those created - everything is in Your power. To turn rivers into blood, to pour out water from stone, and to transform fire into dew, to enlighten a man blind from birth, to raise the dead, and other similar things to do, who else but Thy all-powerful hand can do it? Thinking about this omnipotent power of Yours, I am convinced that we must tremble and humble ourselves before You (Isa. 66:2), humble ourselves under Your mighty hand (1 Peter 5:6). How can I not tremble and humble myself before the One who has both me and all the ends of the earth in His hands? Both my death and my life are in His hands. Most gracious and merciful God! Have mercy on me, poor sinner. In Your word I see that Your almighty hand protects, preserves and saves those who fear, love and honor You; those who are self-willed, who do not fear and do not honor You, are humbled, punished and executed; rewards virtue, punishes sin. And from this I know Your righteousness, which will reward everyone according to their deeds, and I fear Your judgment; and so I am prompted to repentance for past sins, I am compelled to cry out to You from the depths of my heart: God! Be merciful to me, a sinner! (Luke 18:13). And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no one living will be justified before You (Ps. 142:2). If you see iniquity, Lord, Lord, who can stand? (Ps. 129:3). This also warns me against other sins to which my weakness inclines me. In Your word I see that You philanthropically accept all those who have turned away from You and the wicked, and those who have turned away from You and the wicked, who have turned and come with repentance, and who seek and ask for mercy from You, like a loving Father of lost sons. you add. From this I recognize Your goodness and incomparable mercy towards poor sinners, and therefore I myself do not despair for my sins, but with hope I resort to You, the good and merciful God, and ask for mercy. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity (Ps. 50:3). All Your creatures demonstrate Your goodness, Your word is preached everywhere (see Ps. 18:2), even the animals in the field cry out to You (Joel 1:20), Angels and people are surprised, repentant sinners kiss and the righteous feel, and insensible sinners are not deprived of how Your goodness endures them and leads them to repentance (Rom. 2:4). I, a poor sinner, have felt, feel and kiss Your goodness and cry with Your prophet: Taste and see how good the Lord is (Ps. 33:9). And how many times do I feel Your goodness in my heart, so many times my heart is excited and kindled to Your love. Glory to Your goodness, glory to Your bounty, glory to Your mercy, glory to Your long-suffering, glory to Your love for mankind! I will love You, O Lord, my strength! The Lord is my strength and my refuge, and my Deliverer, my God, my Helper, and I trust in Him; My protector, and the horn of my salvation, and my intercessor (Ps. 17:2-3). In Your word I see that everything that You reveal to us is exactly so; and what you predict comes true; and whatever you promise and promise, you fulfill everything, for the Lord is faithful in all His words (Ps. 144:13). And I see that heaven and earth will pass away, but Your words will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). And from there I know Your truth, and am confirmed in my faith, and without a doubt I believe Your holy and merciful promise, and I am unshakable in my hope. Thy mercy, O Lord, and Thy truth quicken me, support me, preserve and strengthen me, and lead me to Thy future and eternal promised blessings. I know that the church of my body will be ruined, and my body, like the earth, will be given over to the earth. But Your mercy assures me that the same body in which my soul now lives will arise by the power of Your almighty voice (see John 11:43), and by Your grace it will be transformed into a better and more beautiful form. It is sown in humiliation, raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; the spiritual body is sown, the spiritual body is raised. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (1 Cor. 15:43–44 and 53). And so with Your holy Church, “tea of ​​the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the next century, amen.” I see in Your holy word that You have no beginning and no end. All things created by You, just as they began, so they can die, and just as they did not exist, so they may not exist. What remains depends on Thy holy will and almighty power. But you, just as you remain without beginning, will remain without end and cannot help but be. Before the mountains appeared and the earth and the universe were created, from everlasting to everlasting You exist (Ps. 89:3). In the beginning You, O Lord, founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they will perish, but You will remain; they will wear out like a robe, and like a garment you will fold them and they will be changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not end (Ps. 102:26–28). And from this I see that You alone have immortality and live in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16); You alone have everlasting life, you alone have unchangeable life, and You are everlasting eternity, and you are everlasting, eternal life, without Whom we cannot live and be alive, with Whom is the source of life (Ps. 35:10). To be with You is life, without You is obvious death. To be with You is bliss, to be without You is damnation. To be with You is consolation, joy and sweetness; to be without You is sorrow and sorrow. With You those who live truly live, without You those who live are dead, they live before people, but before Your eyes they are dead, they remain in death. The one who withdraws from life is dead; just like the one in darkness who moves away from the light. Thinking about this, I tremble and am afraid to move away from You, my life. I strive and try to be with You, Your unworthy creation. 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. 50:13–14). You are my Creator, You are my life, “You are my strength, Lord, You are my strength, You are my God, You are my joy.” What's in heaven for me? And without You, what do I want on earth? My body and my flesh have fainted, O God of my heart and my portion, O God, forever. For behold, those who remove themselves from You will perish; You have destroyed everyone who commits adultery from You. And it is good for me to unite with God, to place my trust in the Lord (Ps. 72:25–28). Heed diligently, very diligently, my soul, to the word of Scripture: behold, those who separate themselves from You will perish. Beware of moving away from life, lest you end up in death; Beware of moving away from the light, lest you remain in darkness. Sin removes from God and separates from him. The angels sinned and withdrew from God and perished. The forefathers sinned in paradise - they moved away from God and died. Even today people sin, move away from God, and remain in death. Take care, my soul, so that you may not suffer in the same way. Draw closer to life - may you live in Him and with Him. Hold on to the light - may you have the light of life within you. Get closer to bliss - may you be blissful. Get closer to the good God - so that you will be good. Hold on to essential joy and sweetness - may you remain in consolation, joy and joy. Die to sin and the vanity of this world - so you will live for God. And it is good for me to unite with God! I see in Your holy word that You have incomparable and incomprehensible holiness, by which Your chosen and holy Angels are amazed and horrified, so that with trembling and horror they are prompted to cry out: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts! (Isa. 6:3). And I know that to be with You is life, to be without You is death. It is terrible to be separated from You, but it is impossible for someone disgraced and defiled to be with You. And he who is with You, the Light of life, in whom there is no darkness, desires to have fellowship, must be and walk in the light (1 John 1:5-7). This reasoning teaches me to fear all sin and move away from it, and to be in repentance and contrition for past sins, and to pray to You with humility and repentance. Turn away Your face from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities (Ps. 50:11). Take away, O Lord, my iniquities from me, and I will be Yours, and I will be with You. For it is good for me to unite with God. I see in Your holy word that You are everywhere and in every place, and there is no place where You are not essentially present, and where I neither walk nor am, I walk and remain before You; and whatever I do, I say, I think, I begin, I do before You, I speak, I think and I begin. You see and know everything, and you see and know far better than I know myself; and whatever I do, say, think, or begin, You write in Your book, and You will reward me according to my deeds, thoughts, words, and undertakings. Since You are everywhere, You see and know everything. That’s why I can’t hide from You anywhere or in anything. All my ways are before You, O Lord (Ps. 119:168). Where will I go from Your Spirit, and where will I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven - You are there; If I go to hell, you will be there too. If I lift up my wings in the morning and settle on the edge of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me and Your right hand will hold me. And I said: “Perhaps the darkness will hide me?” But the night is also light in my delight. For darkness will not be dark from You, and the night will be as bright as the day (Ps. 139:7–12). This teaching and reflection teaches me to always fear You and tremble, with fear and apprehension to live and act, do, speak, think and begin as children before their father and as slaves before their master, as subjects walk before their king and turn to him, for everything happens before You, and everything is open before Your all-seeing eye and nothing is hidden. From this I learn everywhere and in every place to bow my knees before You, and to humbly call upon You, and to seek mercy from You, and to place my hope in You: Though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me (Ps. 23:4). You are my helper, I sing to you, for you are God, my Protector, my God, my mercy (Ps. 58:18). I see in Your holy word that You are an immaterial Spirit, Whom you cannot see with your eye, nor hear with your ear, nor touch with your hands, nor feel with any sense, but only with the eye of faith and mind You see and know. God is Spirit (John 4:24). From this I learn to honor You not with substance, but with spirit (for the Spirit is spiritually revered), and to bow to You in spirit and in truth (ibid.). Lord, teach me to honor You and worship You in spirit and in truth. I see in Your word that You find a way to save us there, where we cannot see it, and You lead everything providentially and to a good end. And from this I recognize Your incomprehensible wisdom and am amazed at it. And I see that just as You created everything with wisdom (Ps. 103:24), so You manage everything with wisdom. And from this I learn in everything, in my well-being and adversity, to rely on Your wise and wondrous Providence. Everything that is sent to me from You is sent for my good and for my bliss, as from the source of all good things (James 1:17). If you exalt me, it is good for me. If you humble me, it is good for me. If you create joy for me, it will be good for me. If you make me sad, it is good for me. Glory to You, God, for everything! For you do everything to make me happy. I will bless the Lord at all times - both sad and joyful (Ps. 33:2). So from Your holy word I learn to know You, my Creator and God, and, knowing, to honor, and from this I receive great and ineffable benefit to my soul. What would I be if Your holy word did not guide me? He would certainly walk and wander, like a blind man and like one walking in darkness, like all the nations who do not have a lamp - Your word - and do not heed it, they walk and are mistaken, and they do not know You, their Creator, and with Your blessings, which You give them, being content, they do not recognize You, the Benefactor, but honor the creation instead of the Creator, and the honor that is due to You We must repay our Creator and Benefactor, and we must repay your creatures. Your holy word turns me away from such soul-destroying delusion, and points me to You, my Creator, and leads me to You, and to know You, and to honor You alone as my God and Creator, and to worship and serve You alone, and teaches You to render honor to You. I owe you a lot for this heavenly gift of yours, Lord, and I cannot repay you in any way. I thank You, O lover of mankind, that You lit this divine lamp of Yours and placed it in front of everyone, and in front of me, the poor one. Looking at Him, I am illuminated and enlightened, and I understand and recognize You, my Creator and God, and am guided on the true path. In Your word I see what the Creator from His rational creation, the Lord from His servant, the highest Benefactor from the one to whom he does a good deed, God requires from man, that is, such veneration, subjugation, worship, obedience and love, which no creature should be given. And from this I learn to honor You as much as my faith and Your holy word teach. This is what my conscience tells me and encourages me to such reverence. In your word I see who I am and who my neighbor is, and what I owe him, that is, just as I love myself, so I should love him, as a human being and a kindred nature, both beloved and venerable by You; and not to do anything for him that I don’t want for myself, and for him to do everything that I want for myself. This is what I owe to him, and this is what I learn from the word of Your saint. In Your word I see that You, as the Creator, provide for all of Your creation in such a way that even a small bird will not fall to the ground without Your will (Matthew 10:29), and even more so for man, whom He created in Your image and likeness. In this I see that You, a wondrous and incomprehensible Providence to our minds, have kindly shown about the poor man. Truly, man in his creation is honored by You, his Creator, more than all of Your creation, with Your special advice: Let us create man (Gen. 1:26). Created in Your image and in Your likeness, created holy, pure, blameless, wise, and created for eternal bliss. But, seduced by the seductive advice of the evil serpent, he lost all his honor and bliss, and thus, turning away from You, his Creator, he perished. Oh, bad advice! O. fierce fall! Man fell and he who was created in the image of God and in the likeness of God, and created for eternal bliss, perished. Adam! Where are you? (Gen. 3:9). Ah, My dear creation, created by My hands, created in My image and in My likeness, where are you? From what height to what baseness, from what glory to what disgrace, from what honor to what disgrace, from what bliss to what damnation have you fallen! The evil serpent deceived My venerable creation; the robber kidnapped and took into captivity the man created by My hands; a fierce beast tore My dear child to pieces (see Gen. 37:33). Man, being in honor, did not understand it, became equal to the foolish beasts and became like them (Ps. 49:13,21). Thus the primordial man perished, and so did we, his sons. But you, good, merciful and humane God, did not tolerate seeing a poor man in destruction, but had mercy on him. Thy law was given to him, so that he, who had fallen away from You, might be converted and brought to You. But he only showed him his weakness, and did not heal him; denounced him and frightened him, and did not console him; showed his destruction, but did not save him, and could not save him, since the man, so severely wounded and weak, could not fulfill it. You sent Your chosen servants, the prophets, to fallen man; and they only denounced the man, and did not help the man, but pointed to the One who was coming to save the man, and they proclaimed Him, and thereby gave some kind of joy to the poor man: Behold, he comes (Mal. 3:1), your Savior is coming (Isa. 62:11); He who comes (Ps. 118:26) comes quickly and will not tarry (Is. 14:1). Finally, the time has come, and by Your most holy favor You sent to us Your Only Begotten Son, co-natural and co-essential and co-originating with You. And He took on the flesh obsequious to us, and was born of the most immaculate Virgin Mother, and, being God without beginning, was infancy, and, being the King of Heaven, lived on earth, about Him You testified from heaven with Your most Divine voice: This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; Listen to Him (Matthew 17:5). He was sent from You, our God and Creator, to us poor people to seek and save us, Your lost creation, just as He Himself preached comfortingly about Your love for us, unworthy: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:16–17). Having come to us, He declared to us Your most holy favor and Your highest mercy; and with Your holy Gospel, which You brought to us, our hearts, distressed by the poison of the serpent, comforted and rejoiced; preached to us that You leave our sins with which we have angered You, our Creator and our God, and call us to You through Him, and open the doors of Your eternal kingdom to those who believe in Him and obey Him, as He Himself testified to our consolation: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; for He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor, and He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18–19). He brought this all-pleasant and all-joyful news from You to us, poor sinners, with people, as a man who lived on earth, and taught us to believe in You, and to please You and to do Your will by His example, and showed us the way to Your eternal kingdom and called us, and suffered and died for those who did not accept Him, and rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven, from where He came, and sat down at Your right hand, God and Father. Thus, through His suffering and death and the blood shed for us, having cleansed us who believe in Him from our sins, He draws Your lost sheep to You, His Heavenly Father, like a good shepherd. For such a humane, saving, wonderful, incomprehensible Providence of Yours, like all people, so I, a poor sinner, owe You a lot, Lord. But what shall I render to the Lord for all that He has given me? (Ps. 115:3). I glorify You, Father, with Your Only Begotten Son and Your Most Holy Spirit! I sing Your love for mankind! I glorify Your goodness and mercy, unworthy and poor sinner! Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited His people and created deliverance for them, and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David (Luke 1:68–69). Where would I be, a sinner and a lawbreaker, if not in destruction and eternal death, lying like a prostrate dead? I would eat, like the demons, I would taste the eternally bitter fruits of my sins. For the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Your goodness, mercy and love for mankind did not allow me to do this, but so miraculously You saved me. I owe You a lot, Lord, for this. Bless, my soul, the Lord, and all that is within me, His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His rewards (Ps. 102:1–2) I see in Your holy word that the devil, the evil ancient serpent, who deceived my first parents in paradise, is the same now, jealous of our blessedness, to which You lead us by the grace of Your Only Begotten Son, walks like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). From this enemy of ours, both all who know You, and me, unworthy, are warned by Your goodness, and Thy all-powerful hand preserves. Oh, how could I have been unharmed, wouldn’t the enemy have swallowed me up alive, if Thy almighty hand had not protected me! I owe You a lot, Lord, and for this. Blessed be the Lord, who did not give us over as prey to their teeth (Ps. 123:6). But do not forsake me, O Lord (Ps. 37:22), and to the end, but deliver me from the evil one (Matthew 6:13). Arise, O Lord my God, lift up Your hand, do not forget Your poor to the end (Ps. 9:33). Do not give over to the beasts the soul that glorifies You; Do not forget your poor souls to the end (Ps. 73:19). I see in Your holy word that Your holy angels, standing before the throne of Your glory and seeing Your most holy face, protect those who know and fear You, and preserve them by Your commandment from the wicked demons (see Ps. 33:8), and are sent to serve for those who are to inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). For You do not abandon those whom You have loved and redeemed with the honest Blood of Your Only Begotten Son, but through Your holy servants You preserve them and bring them to eternal rest. I, Thy unworthy and indecent servant, am worthy of this grace of Thy, by Thy mercy. I owe You a lot, Lord, and for this. I know and confess with humility that I have sinned a lot to You, my Creator and God, and I regret it, and I see other sins in my conscience, but I don’t see others - and I don’t see more than I see: who can understand the Fall? (Ps. 18:13). I regret and lament that through them You, my good and humane God, my Creator, my Redeemer, my highest Benefactor, the One Whom the holy angels reverence, sing with fear and trembling, and Whom they worship, - You, the Lord, I, the last worm, have madly offended a lot. And how many times have I sinned against You, so many times have You seen me sin; and how many times have I seen, so many times You have endured me in Your goodness; and how many times did he endure me, so many times did he have mercy on me. And if You had acted with me according to Your most holy righteousness, my soul would have long ago descended into hell; but Your goodness and Your love for mankind and Your long-suffering restrained You and did not allow me, a poor sinner, to my destruction. I owe You a lot, O Lord, and for this great mercy of Yours I owe to me. Let me confess to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever, for Your great mercy is upon me, and You have delivered my soul from the lowest hell (Ps. 85:12–13). From these and others, whom I don’t even know, I see Your good deeds towards me, that with Your love for me and kindness, love for mankind and long-suffering and generosity, You protect me. Your goodness, Lord, is that I have not yet perished, I still live. I see that You are leading me to eternal salvation, which You promised to those who know You and honor You. Have mercy on me, a poor sinner, to the end, and by the grace of Your Only Begotten Son, cleanse all my sins, and save me into eternal life. May I be there with all Your chosen ones for all Your good deeds, thanking and praising You and praising You with Your Only Begotten Son and the Most Holy Spirit. Now I see all this in part, but there I will see face to face forever, amen (1 Cor. 13:12). From these reasonings you see, Christian: 1) What we owe to God, that is, both I and you, owe everything to Him: that we live, that we move, this is God’s goodness, and no matter what you do, no matter how you please God - even if you suffered throughout your entire life for the sake of His name, and that would be nothing - you always remain a debtor to God. Because we receive everything from Him and owe everything to Him! For the mere fact that He created us, we cannot repay in any way or anything, but what about His other countless and highest blessings? What will I repay to the Lord for everything that He has given me? (Ps. 115:3). One answer is nothing. 2) From here we will learn to humbly thank Him from the sincerity of our hearts, and recognize our shortcomings and poverty in the fact that from Him, as the Benefactor, we receive benefits every day and hour, but we cannot repay the Benefactor with anything. 3) We must thank Him for all the blessings, but most of all for His word, as His highest gift sent to us, and for the saving coming of His Only Begotten Son, and for His sake the eternal life and bliss promised to us. In this, God’s inexpressible and incomprehensible kindness and love for us was revealed. 4) From here you see, Christian, how wretched and poor you are, that you cannot live even a minute without the blessings of God. The one who does not have food, the one who does not have clothing, the one who does not have a home, and so on, is wretched and poor. You do not have all this and other things of your own, but you receive everything from God, who is rich in mercy. And if the Lord had not given you all this, then you would have been the poorest and most damned, more than all creation. You see now how poor and wretched you are. Recognize and acknowledge your poverty and misery - may the Lord, who is rich in mercy, enrich you. 5) From here you see that we cannot earn anything from God on our own, but we receive everything freely from His generous hand. He, as good and rich in mercy, seeing our poverty and misery, opens the treasures of His goodness, and therefore gives us everything freely. His nature is such that it cannot help but do good. 6) From the knowledge of God will follow renewal, correction, piety and holy Christian life, as you saw above. It is impossible to truly know God and live ungodly, since one is the opposite of the other. It is impossible for one who knows God not to be corrected and renewed, and the more he knows, the more corrected, renewed, and better he becomes. 7) From here it follows that Christians who live lawlessly do not know God, although they confess His holy name, and pray to Him, and go to church, and partake of the Mysteries of Christ, and so on. The apostle wrote about this: And by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3–4). All such people remain in death, as if they are moving away from life; they live in body but are dead in soul; they live before the world, but die before God. For it is impossible for one defiled by sins to have fellowship with the holy God, and if someone is separated from Him, he is separated from Life, and that means he is dead, as it is written: All who remove themselves from You will perish (Ps. 72:27). This includes fornicators, adulterers, all kinds of defilers, evildoers and avengers, predators, thieves and robbers, slanderers and slanderers, seducers, deceivers and hypocrites, and others like them. All such people have withdrawn from God through their evil behavior and therefore remain in death. 8) When the lawless man turns to God with all his heart and remains in true repentance, he will live again by the grace of God. If, sinner, you want to live with your soul, and not with your body alone, then turn with all your heart to God - the Life that quickens everyone, and hold on to Him with faith and righteousness, and you will truly live both now and in the next century, and although you die, you will live again, and you will enter the resurrection of eternal life. Praise the Lord, all you nations; praise Him, all you people; for His mercy toward us is steadfast, and the truth of the Lord endures forever (Ps. 116:1-2). Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord in my life; I will sing to my God as long as I exist (Ps. 145:1–2). You might be interested in: