Heavenly Light.

The Lord created the world by saying, "Let there be light." In our creative lives we are a reflection of the Creator Who created the world. When we watch out with attention and direct our attention towards light, then good thinking appears within us as if it were a reflection of the creative thought of God. Good thought is light, as it comes from the Source of light. It is a creative beginning; it penetrates into the chaos of life’s relationships of good and evil and creates a new life. It encourages us to overcome darkness. It is said: "Believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light" (John 12:36). Divine light is always pouring into the world. But it is repelled from us by the darkness of our souls. It is only when we dispel darkness that we are illuminated by the light. As if a beam of light falls upon us from heaven and enlightens everything in us and around us. It is a manifestation of the power of God. As if the Lord were saying through us, "Let there be light." And the light comes, and a new life appears before our eyes, the life we did not think existed. We can turn our mundane life into a new one, if only we focus our attention on good thoughts. Good thought moves our will to overcome evil; it enlightens us and opens a new way of life for us. In order to prevent it, the evil one makes all kinds of effort to blind our attention. We ought to always watch out and repel attacks of the devil.

The light of God’s will enlightens everything within us. It ought to be always active in us. Yet we are more willing to choose what appears to be easier for us, what appears to be more natural. We are often tempted and give in to the sinful flow of our life.

The main task of our life is to drive darkness out of our heart. "Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light,"-says Apostle Paul (Rom. 13:12). When we replace the darkness of our heart with light, we are filled with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit creates a new life, calling it out of non-existence into existence. We just need to labor to open our heart to God, Who will then enter into it: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock" (Rev. 3:20). Of course, we cannot attain the Kingdom of God easily; we must take it by great effort. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matt. 11:12). The Kingdom of God is our well-being and our common good, and it is quite possible to realize it here on earth, not only there above the clouds. To this end we must stand up to fight against sin. This act will lead us to a new life, new experiences we do not yet know.

People often postpone the work of their salvation until they get older. We plan to start getting saved in the future; we forget that we may not live to become old. The future is always around us, it is connected with our repentance and improvement. The secret of true life is in that we should not postpone the care of our salvation to an indefinite future, that our every step should be enlightened by the light of Righteousness and the will of God and be corrected in that light. It is necessary to remember that, if we walk along the path of sin, then we are on the verge of perdition, and this realization is necessary in order that the light of righteousness may enlighten our life.

We all are expecting outside joy, and we fail to notice what is within us. That is why we are surrounded by darkness, both inside and outside. Our hearts are filled with sinful darkness, and we misinterpret what is around us. We get confused in details, get tired in daily cares, and don’t do what we ought to do, we quarrel with each other. Thus we waste day after day, and each present moment passes without that divine content of life that could have filled it. We do not understand the significance of time: minutes, hours, days… We appear to be blind. In our everyday life we have to overcome obstacles every minute in order to be in fellowship, yet we don’t realize how important it is. We walk in darkness and stumble every moment, and because of this we suffer a lot. If we tried to overcome this darkness in ourselves, the world around us would have become brighter. If we achieve the moment of enlightenment, then everything changes, and people around us appear to be different.