Without faith in Jesus Christ
no one can return to God and enter the Kingdom
of Heaven. No one, even though he
believe in Jesus Christ, can regard himself to be His disciple and share His
glory in Heaven if he does not act as Jesus Christ did. And no one is able to
follow Jesus Christ if he does not receive help from the Holy Spirit.
To receive the Holy Spirit, we must use the means granted us by God.
We should remember that the path into the Kingdom
of Heaven that has been opened to
us by Jesus Christ is the only one, and there never was and never will
be another path that leads to salvation. At times this path may appear
difficult, but, again, you should remind yourself that this is the only one
that leads toward your objective. At other times the Christian will encounter
such consolations and delights on this path as cannot be found in any worldly
thing. The Lord Jesus Christ assists us on this path. He gives us the Holy
Spirit, He sends His angel to protect us, He provides instructors and leaders,
and even He Himself takes us by the hand and leads us to salvation.
If the path into the Kingdom of Heaven
seems difficult, then consider how incomparably more dreadful are the eternal
torments in fiery Gehenna. If the path toward heavenly bliss seems difficult,
compare it with the path toward earthly happiness, and you will see that the
path toward earthly happiness is not really easier at all. Just observe how
much people toil to amass earthly things, how many disappointments, fights,
sleepless nights and deprivations they bear. Or remind yourself of how much
effort and expenses it takes to achieve some meaningless and fleeting pleasure!
And for what? Instead of the expected happiness, you
are left with disappointment and weariness. When you carefully examine the
heart of the matter, it becomes evident that people stay away from the Heavenly
Kingdom not because the path to it
is more difficult than the other paths of this world, but because it appears
that way to them. Besides, the devil, an experienced and crafty deceiver,
misleads people into believing that the path to salvation is difficult and the
paths to perdition are easy, and he often succeeds in this.
So, my brethren, in order to avoid eternal perdition, let us definitely
concern ourselves with our future. We know that beyond the grave there awaits
one of the following two outcomes: either the Heavenly
Kingdom or everlasting perdition in
hell. There is no middle state, only everlasting bliss or everlasting torment.
As there exist only two conditions past the grave, so
there exist only two paths in this life. The one that seems wide and easy is
taken by the majority. The other that seems narrow and thorny is taken by few.
Those who follow the narrow path will be a hundredfold more
happy than those who do not.
Brethren, if any of you who walk the wide path should suddenly die, what
will happen to you? To whom shall you turn? To the Lord?
You refuse to listen to Him now, so you must expect He will refuse to listen to
you then. Now He is your merciful Father; then He will be your righteous judge.
Who will defend you against His righteous rage? Ah! How frightful it is to fall
into the hands of the living God! Therefore, concern yourselves now with the
salvation of your soul while you still have time!
Work for your salvation while it is still daylight, for the night will come
in which there will be no chance to change anything. Strive for the Heavenly
Kingdom while you can still walk.
Walk even a little bit, even if by crawling, but do it in the right direction.
Then in eternity you will truly rejoice for every step you have taken!
May the All-merciful Lord help us all in this! Glory and thanksgiving be to
Him throughout the ages of ages. Amen.
