My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND SHALL EVER BE.
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"To everything, there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.
A time to give birth
And a time to die;
A time to plant
And a time to pluck what is planted.
A time to kill
And a time to heal;
A time to pull down
And a time to build up.
A time to weep
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn
And a time to dance.
A time to throw stones
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace
And a time to refrain from embracing.
A time to seek
And a time to lose;
A time to keep
And a time to throw away.
A time to tear
And a time to saw;
A time to keep silent
And a time to speak,
A time to love
And a time to hate;
A time of war
And a time of peace."
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-14)
The Eternal Logos/Word--the beginning, and the end--came into time and redeemed all things. He turned our weeping into joy, our mourning into dancing, our hatred into love, and our time into eternity.
"That men would fear before Him" (v. 14) expresses the Preacher's understanding of why the world is the way it is. God uses the world to turn us to Himself, for at the end of the age, the time will come for judgment. (Orthodox Study Bible)
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,
All of us without exception, at some point, must go through different seasons of life. There will be times that we will experience joy and happiness and moments when we must endure deep sorrow and pain. There will be times of joy at the weddings of our friends and family and periods at the passing of those that we love so much. We will have moments of silence and there will be times when we must speak up for something that we believe to be right. As human beings, we will have those times that we love those around us and there will also be times that we retain our love from others. In our lifetime we must live through many wars and there will also be those times of peace. As human beings, we will experience many different seasons of life during our time upon this earth.
The writer in the first chapter tells us that "Everything under the sun" is meaningless. So how do you and I find meaning in our daily lives out under the sun where so much seems to be meaningless?
We usually look for meaning in all of the wrong places in this world that we live in. Wisdom and meaning cannot be found in the world, it can only come from God, our Creator. We often focus on making a name for ourselves and leaving behind a legacy so that others will remember who we were and what we accomplished. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that even kings or other important people are soon forgotten after they die.
The world that God created for us to live in poses a problem for most of us. We look to the world for happiness, fulfillment or validation and we never seem to find any of those things. Nothing on this earth seems to satisfy us, at least not for a long period of time. The things of this world cannot fully satisfy us because we were not made of this world, we were made for eternity. We were made to live with Our Creator God in heaven, where God is Ruler of all. (Daily Walk with God)
I believe that we can find meaning in life if we remember this one important thing. We must, my dear friends, come to realize that meaning comes from the Almighty and Merciful God; it does not come from this world, God has set the gift of eternity in our hearts but we still cannot begin to comprehend all that God has done for us as mere human beings. We only find meaning and purpose in this life when we come to joyfully accept everything that comes our way as coming from the hand of God. Remember the words of Saint John Chrysostom who said, "Glory Be To God for all things." As humans, we have no control over the seasons of our lives, Who is Eternal and Sovereign, determines all of the seasons and activities of our lives.
Live out your life knowing that your Creator loves you and cares for you. Acknowledge His goodness and His Wisdom and you will discover that this life "under the sun" does indeed have meaning and purpose. And we will fully discover that purpose as we spend eternity with Our Father in His Kingdom.
As we continue on the journey to the All-Holy Pascha we recall the words of the holy Desert Fathers saying, "Better someone who has sinned, if he knows he has sinned and repents than a person who has not sinned and thinks of himself as righteous."
Let us use this holy season and time, to strengthen our love and commitment to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us strengthen our relationship with our husband or wife, children and friends, our co-workers and our fellow citizens. Let us use this precious time to reconcile with our enemies and do good to them. Let us be thankful for the many blessings granted to us by Our Heavenly Father. Our life here on earth is, as you see, brief, and it is important to understand that we can be and should be, an instrument of God to bring joy and love to all of His children, men, women, and children of the world.
Let us use this priceless time and season to prepare for the eternal life that has been promised to us by our Lord. Let us prepare to hear the Divine words of our Lord when we come before Him to be judged by Him at His Second Coming, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me...Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" (Saint Matthew 25: 34-40).
The standard of judgment is uncalculated mercy toward others. The works produced by faith are emphasized, for saving faith always produces righteous works. What we do, reflects our true inner state. The least refers to all the poor and the needy. The needs described in this Parable include both physical and spiritual needs. Therefore, the hungry or thirsty are not only those who need food and drink but also those who hunger and thirst for compassion and love. They also hunger and thirst for the word of God.
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George