Part 5. Love for God
He who has acquired perfect love for God goes through this life as if he did not exist. For he considers himself a stranger to all that is visible and awaits with patience that which is unseen. He is completely transformed into love for God and has abandoned all worldly attachments.
He who truly loves God considers himself a wanderer and newcomer on earth, for in him is a striving towards God in soul and mind, which contemplates Him alone.
As for care of the soul, a person in his body is like a lighted candle. The candle must burn out, and a person must die. But as our soul is immortal, so our cares should be directed more toward the soul than the body: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)" for which, as is known, nothing in the world can serve as ransom? If the soul alone is worth more than all the world and the worldly kingdom, then the Kingdom of Heaven is incomparably more precious. We consider the soul as most precious for the reason stated by Macarius the Great, that God did not desire to bond and unite His spiritual essence with any visible creation except man, whom He loves more than any of His creations.
An excerpt from the teachings of Seraphim of Sarov of the 18th & 19th centuries. He was one of the most renowned Russian saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Seraphim extended the monastic teachings of contemplation, theoria and self-denial to the layperson.
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Issues Facing Christians Today - Chocolate Christianity!
Wednesday Wisdom 1 - Proverbs 1
Issues Facing Christians Today - Individualism
Psalm On Demand - Psalm 83
Issues Facing Christians Today - Government
Bible Reading - Psalms 41 to 45
Bible Reading - Psalms 1 to 5
Bible Reading - Psalm 117
Christian Response to Mormonism 4
Bible Reading - Psalm 141
Christian Response to Mormonism 3
Bible Reading - Psalm 139
Christian Response to Mormonism 2
Bible Reading - Psalm 36
Christian Response to Mormonism 1
Issues Facing Christians Today - Worship
Bible Reading - Psalm 65
No Longer A Baby - 8. Jesus’ Relationship With The Christian
No Longer A Baby - 7. How To Be Assured You Are A Christian
No Longer A Baby - 6. Becoming a Christian
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