What is Needed to Achieve Eternal Blessedness
September 7
(A Story From the "Leimonarion" About the Struggle)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
September 7
(A Story From the "Leimonarion" About the Struggle)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
"Once," the monk Athanasios recounted, "the thought came to me: what awaits in the future life for those who struggle here for their salvation? With this thought, I felt as if I were in ecstasy, and someone came to me, saying: 'Follow me,' and led me to a wondrous place filled with light, and set me before such marvelous doors that their beauty is beyond description. I heard a multitude of people behind the doors, continuously praising God."
Truly, brethren, wonderful, indescribable is the life in the Kingdom of Heaven! There, people shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father (Matt. 13:43); there, for them is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17); there, they serve the Lord and behold His face… And there is no night, nor do they need the light of a lamp or the sunlight; for the Lord illuminates them (Rev. 22:3-5). There, finally, are such blessings and joys that we cannot even imagine (1 Cor. 2:9).
Wondrous are the doors that lead into this life, and inexpressibly blessed is life itself! But who will enter into it? The answer to this question is given to us by the same monk Athanasis. Let us listen to what he says further in his story: "When we (i.e., he and the one who appeared to him) began to knock at the doors with the intent to enter, someone from within asked us: 'What do you desire?' The guide replied: 'We wish to pass through the doors.' The voice from within then said to us: 'No one who dwells in idleness enters here; but if you wish to ascend, turn back and strive, thinking not in the slightest about the goods of this vain world.'"
Therefore, brethren, here is what is necessary, as you see, to enter the gates of paradise – it is the deeds laid out for our salvation in the Gospel by the Lord Himself, and the removal of attachment to everything that leads us to forget God and our future destiny. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and only those who exert effort attain it" (Matthew 11:13), says the word of God. Therefore, constantly work for your salvation, be courageous, struggle, do not succumb to the temptations and trials of the world, act according to the commandments of the Lord, and the doors of the Kingdom of God will be opened to you. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Wondrous are the doors that lead into this life, and inexpressibly blessed is life itself! But who will enter into it? The answer to this question is given to us by the same monk Athanasis. Let us listen to what he says further in his story: "When we (i.e., he and the one who appeared to him) began to knock at the doors with the intent to enter, someone from within asked us: 'What do you desire?' The guide replied: 'We wish to pass through the doors.' The voice from within then said to us: 'No one who dwells in idleness enters here; but if you wish to ascend, turn back and strive, thinking not in the slightest about the goods of this vain world.'"
Therefore, brethren, here is what is necessary, as you see, to enter the gates of paradise – it is the deeds laid out for our salvation in the Gospel by the Lord Himself, and the removal of attachment to everything that leads us to forget God and our future destiny. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and only those who exert effort attain it" (Matthew 11:13), says the word of God. Therefore, constantly work for your salvation, be courageous, struggle, do not succumb to the temptations and trials of the world, act according to the commandments of the Lord, and the doors of the Kingdom of God will be opened to you. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
