Father Stephen+

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I have been reading your blog at work since the beginning of Lent and have found that it puts my mind & my heart in the ‘right direction’, as it is so easy to become distracted by the troubles of worldly affaires (especially those of other people in my industry!) and lose sight of my place in the “grand scope of eternity”.

When a teenager, my parents used to drive an hour to go to the city where my church was (they themselvers were not church-goers, but faithfully took me every weekend). It was a country drive and I am a country-loving girl at heart. I remember vividly some of the sights that always held fast my heart and stopped me with wonder – even though I would see them every single week! I feel home-sick for these moments of simplicity and unfettered beauty being an adult in a busy world with so many ‘tasks’ vying for my attention and so much activity going on. It is very overwhelming and tiring to live like this.

You have given my parched heart a small drop of water to inspire it to seek deeper fountains so that the garden of wonder and awe for Creation – and He who gave it and us Life – may grow and flourish again. My husband always asks why I insist on taking “the back roads” when going somewhere – I tell him “you never know what you may find!”

Many thanks for sharing with us – please don’t stop! Some of us need these little reminders, even if just to make it through the day.

Father, Bless!

I spend most of life confused about what gives life meaning. I hold onto the lie that “my desires” for “my destination” are the target; the bulls eye for a purposeful life. When I miss “this mark”, I may be filled with a profound “God is absent ” despair. Or, perhaps worse, when I hit the mark, I further separate myself from God in my prideful belief of “how I’ve accomplished something meaningful”.

When I accept some simple basic Truths
- I am no thing, no where, and non existent without God, “the Giver of Life” who is King, Comforter, and Spirit of Truth.
- I am the creature, He is the Creator
- My faith in Him as a “Treasury of Good Gifts” and a God who “fillest all things” and “is everywhere present” in the midst of whatever my circumstance allows Him to reveal Himself more fully to me. Without this faith, I limit what I give to Him and thus what He can transform and renew in my life.
-As I discover who He is through this faith, I also find my True Self as I invite Him to ‘come abide’ in me. I find this Truth unites me both to Him and to my neighbor. As I discover this Truth, I find that who I am expands beyond what is individual and limited by time/place to what is universal, eternal, and timeless. Somehow in this process His Love can blossom even in the darkness of my soul and begin to transform what is latent as “His Image” into something a step closer to His Likeness.
- As I learn my part to allow Him to “cleanse me of impurities”, I begin to realize how simple and straight forward this process can be if I am willing to cooperate and accept His instruction “If you love Me, obey my commands”. A life “with God” becomes something I can experience in my heart beyond understanding in my mind.
- And my soul is ready and able to embrace His graceful desire for salvation as I learn to allow Him to be my Lord and my God.

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good gifts, and Giver of Life: Come and abide in us, cleanse us of all impuriities, and save our souls, O Good One,

I do think there are many forms of evangelism (which is not the same thing as worship). This blog, though serving many purposes, also serves that of evangelism. The printed word is another form. Film is another form. Music is another form. The most important form is the presence of Christ in His Body, the Church. If the world does not see Christ properly manifest in the Church (as in the love and mercy we extend to the world and each other) then almost no other medium will do.

Some will find it interesting to know that the Orthodox do conduct evangelism meetings (I have seen a recent report on these in Russia). We have them elsewhere as well.

Historically, I think it was an error to think of worship as evangelism, and then to make the connection to cultural relevance, etc. The result in some quarters is the Gospel as entertainment (since this is an entertainment based culture). True worship (which is an exchange between God and man, a participation in the Divine Life) gets lost. An evangelism that is aimed primarily at the passions (as understood in the Fathers) is inappropriate and as worship is unfitting.

“God did not create us for efficiency – nor is His likeness to be revealed in productivity. Speed of travel is meaningless when we are going nowhere.”

Dear Father, bless! Once again, you have beautifully articulated and brought into focus the Truth and what I and so many of us struggle with in this culture. I have laryngitis right now, but the AMEN in my heart is as loud as it can be!