Doors
- May 18
- 5 min read
“One of my daily prayers is for God to open the doors He wants me to walk through and close the doors He doesn’t. Life becomes very simple when we surrender to God’s will.” (Jackie Morfesis)
“I firmly believe that God will not only open the right doors in our lives, as I often say, He will close the wrong doors on our lives. Not only the doors, but people also who are no longer beneficial to our souls will seamlessly fade away. I realize given that we are to love our neighbor as our ourselves, this comment may seem out of place and out of context with the Christian view. However, I did not say, not to love others, I said that not everyone is meant to be in our lives. Or to take it into a deeper context, those who are not beneficial to our souls…It is obvious that all doors open to those who have love.” (Jackie Morfesis, Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)
“I believe imagination is integral to what Scripture means when it speaks of the inward person, the realm of the heart. Imagination is the way we translate the world to ourselves, the inner room in which our outward vision is interpreted by our “in” sight. We all deal in imagination each day of our lives. We cannot escape some sense that we are enmeshed in a larger story in which we are agents for good or ill. We cannot create what we have not imagined. We cannot love without an inward idea of the person we hold so precious. We cannot grow without entering that inmost room, opening the doors that lead us deeper into vivid images of all we might make or become. But many of us have lost the way to that house, have forgotten that this inward place of potent meaning is our native land.” (Sarah Clarkson)
“Struggling to obey the Lord through daily prayer, regular fasting, generosity to those in need, and constant mindfulness are necessary for us to gain the spiritual clarity to discern and follow our path of obedience to the heavenly kingdom…without embracing this difficult and humbling journey is nothing but self-righteous religious hypocrisy by which we will condemn only ourselves. We will do the opposite of obeying the Lord’s command “Follow Me” if we entangle ourselves in the nets of spiritual pride, self-righteous judgment of our neighbors, and the idolatry of seeking first any kingdom other than that of our Lord. Instead of attracting others to Christ like a beacon in the darkness, we will turn them away by our bad example and reveal how we have shut the doors of our hearts to the healing presence of the Holy Spirit.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“A spiritual elder once said: “God is not punishing you—He is bringing you back to Himself.” We think that everything bad is “payback”; that if your life is falling apart, it means that you “got it for your sins”. But the elder taught: “When a person goes the wrong way, God does not strike him: He takes away what leads him away from Him. Thus, paths break down, relationships are ruined, doors close, and attachments disappear. It’s not punishment, but mercy, so that you may not die on false paths and finally hear your heart. But sometimes the opposite happens: once you take a tiny step towards the truth, life begins to breathe again. People appear, energy bubbles, your thoughts become clearer, and your soul feels such peace that you just want to stand in silent gratitude. “If there is peace in your soul, you are going the right way. If your soul feels uneasy, God is calling you back.” (Ariadna Nefedkina)
“There has only ever been one door in all of history that truly mattered: the door of Christ’s Empty Tomb. It is that place where that which was hidden beneath and within showed forth into what is present and clear. The meaning of all things (the Logos) revealed Himself and spoke with us. If we saw Him then, or see Him now, then we are not wrong to see Him in every tree, rock, and cloud – in all created things. St. Paul is among those who saw Him. Of Him, he said this: All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist (Col. 1:16-17). St. John who also saw Him, handled Him, and heard Him speak, said this: All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:4-5).” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“What is the meaning of this parable? [Parable of the Sower - Mark 4:1-9]. He [Christ]went out to sow His seed. From where could He “go out” who is present everywhere, and fills all places? He went out, not into a place, but into a life and into a historic dispensation wherein He saved us, being brought close to us by reason of assuming our flesh. Since we could not enter in, for our sins had shut the door to us, He came out to us. . . . He came to till and to take care of the earth: to sow the word of compassion. For here He calls his teaching seed, the souls of men a ploughed field, and Himself the sower.” (St. John Chrysostom)
“Faith in Christ is principally a matter of the heart, and then of reason. The Lord didn’t say, ‘If you understand Me’, but ‘If you love Me, keep my commandments’. This means that we can understand Him to the degree that we try to love Him. Our love for Him, expressed as observance of His commandments, opens the door for Him to come and dwell in our soul and body, so that understanding Him becomes a matter of experience- the believer is literally taught by God. And, in any case, this is what He promised: the moment we keep His commandments, He appears within us; the whole of the Holy Trinity finds a ‘site’ to build a monastery. And His fundamental commandment is to have faith in Him: ‘Believe in God and believe in me’. Everything to do with faith is bound up with love for His person. Loving Christ means believing in Him, and believing in Him means loving Him.” (Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis)
“…even among us believers, faith changes and wavers. Sometimes it is strong, sometimes it is weak, sometimes doubts arise not only in faith in God, but in faith in His Providence and in the meaning of our lives. And people who do not have faith in the Lord are the opposite people in some ways—they do not want, or sometimes do not know, what a deep, beautiful and unknown world of faith opens up to a person who comes to the faith. But faith depends on you and me. The Lord says in Revelations, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20). And, of course, there are many different ways of acquiring faith. Sometimes it is present throughout your life, from childhood, sometimes it comes at a young or mature age, and sometimes it comes during an illness.” (Igumen Pavel Polukov)
“It is not only preoccupations that can keep us from opening the door of our hearts to Him as He stands beside us. Even holy and sacred things can keep Him waiting. The beauty and grandeur of the rituals of the church may overwhelm us. The elation of corporate praise may overpower us. The eloquence of a preacher may stir us. But if these spiritual experiences do not prompt us to open our hearts to the Lord, then the Lord is still standing at the gate of our hearts.” (Fr. Basil)
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