132. Познанное добро ищут

We see that people, when they know good, seek it. Thus, if they realize that goodness is wealth for them, they seek it; they know that bread is good for them, and they seek it; they recognize that clothing is good for them, and they seek it; they recognize that home is good for them, and they seek it; they recognize that light is good and seek it; they learn that art, artistry, reason and wisdom are good for them, and they seek them, and so on, the more good they know, the more diligently they seek it. But we never look for the unknown good: how can we look for what we don’t know? Therefore, one must first know good, and then seek it. So God - the highest, natural and eternal known Good - is sought; and the more a person knows Him, the more diligently and diligently he seeks Him, and desires and does not seek anything either on earth or in heaven except Him, singing with the prophet in his heart: What can I in heaven and without You what can I desire on earth (Ps. 72:25-26), and so on - but, leaving everything behind him, those who are thirsty in spirit hurries to Him. As a deer longs for springs of water, so does my soul long for You, O God! My soul thirsted for the Mighty, Living God: when I come and appear to the face of God (Ps. 42:2-3). Christian! If we want to seek God - and we certainly must - then we must first know Him, and then seek; and the more we know Him, the more diligently we will seek Him. Great and precious goods are sought with great diligence and zeal. Silver is sought with great diligence by those who love it; gold - with even greater zeal; precious stone - with zeal far beyond this. God is Good, incomparably better and more excellent than all creatures, for He is the Creator of all. All creatures are good, and very good; but incomparably better and more excellent is He Himself, from Whom the creatures became good. The air was brighter, but the sun, from which the air was illuminated, was much brighter. Sweet is water dissolved in honey; but sweeter is the honey itself, which sweetens the water. Likewise, God has incomparably better light than the sun, to whom he gave light; and has incomparably better kindness and sweetness than all the creatures whom he made good. God planted love and mercy in human hearts; but He Himself has incomparably greater love and mercy. As is His majesty, so is His love and mercy. And not only does He have love and mercy, but He is also Love and Mercy itself; not only Good, but also Goodness itself; not only sweet, but is Sweetness itself; not only the Wisdom, but also the Wisdom itself; not only beautiful, but also Beauty itself, which is more beautiful than all beauties, and so on. But it is written: Taste and see how good the Lord is (Ps. 33:9). Honey is known by taste, and a fragrant flower is known by smell; Thus, the goodness and kindness of God is known by tasting and feeling. There are two books from which God is known: 1) the book of nature, that is, the world, heaven and earth with their fulfillment. Anyone who looks at heaven and earth and other creatures of God and diligently discusses this cannot help but come to the knowledge of the Creator and God. Therefore, the pagans themselves, from this reasoning, came to know God and how great God is, Who created such a great world. The heavens preach the glory of God, the prophet sings (Ps. 18:2). For He must be Great, Who created such great and enormous things out of nothing. He must be the Wise One who created everything with wisdom: You created everything with wisdom (Ps. 103:24). The One who created all that is good and good must be Good and Best. He who gave light to the sun, moon and stars is in Himself an incomparably better Light: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him. He is clothed with light, as with a robe (1 John 1:5; Ps. 103:2). He who made all things good is in Himself incomparably better. He who gave reason to man, Himself has an incomparably better reason. He who gave ears and eyes to animals, Himself has incomparably better sight and hearing: He who planted an ear does not hear? Or does not the Creator's eye see? (Ps. 93:9). He who gave the nutritional power to bread has Himself incomparably better: Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). He can nourish us without bread and food much better than bread nourishes us. He who gave healing power to green grass Himself has incomparably better power, for He heals everyone with His words. Water cools and revives us who are thirsty, but He Himself cools and revives us incomparably better. Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life” (John 4:13–14). His fire warms us; but He Himself warms us much better. He warmed the hearts of Cleopas and his companion when he walked with them, like a traveler, and spoke to them along the way; therefore, they themselves admitted: Didn’t our heart burn within us when He spoke to us on the road and when He explained the Scripture to us? (Luke 24:32). Honey delights us, but He Himself delights us incomparably better when we feel His sweetness and love in our hearts; and so on. Good, and very good, is the creation of God; but the Creator Himself is incomparably better (Gen. 1:31; 1 Tim. 4:4). Just as the mind of a writer is known from a book, and the wisdom of an architect from a building, and fire from warmth, so the Creator is known from a creation. 2) The best and most perfect way in which God is known is through the book of Holy Scripture. This book introduces and depicts God with His Divine properties. It shows us that God is One and the Same, Who created the whole world and in the created world has created and is creating glorious deeds. But we cannot truly know God without God. The fact that God is Good, Almighty, Righteous, True, Omnipresent, and so on, a person must feel in his heart, and taste, and see how Good the Lord is; then God will be somewhat known. Therefore says the Lord: And no one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal (Matthew 11:27). And the holy prophet prays: Open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders of Your law (Ps. 119:18). For our eyes to see created things, we need natural light. In order for our minds to know and see God, it is necessary for a supernatural light to flash. God is hidden, and lives unapproachable in the light (1 Tim. 6:17), but He reveals and shows Himself to those who love Him, and are humble, and simple, like babies, but hides from the wise and the interrogators of this age. Therefore the Lord says: You hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes (Matthew 11:25). Christian! Let us know God, and without fail, having left everything, we will seek Him alone with love and diligence, and we will not desire or seek anything either on earth or in heaven except Him. 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