“How we receive suffering is often the means by which God breaks down our false notions and gives us the opportunity to gain clarity, to strip away illusions we have, or false gods and idols, and gain Him. Do we want Him or just what He can do for us? Pursuit of God Himself is where we find lasting peace, joy, and happiness. The real meaning we find to our lives is the result of gaining God. We need to get to this place where our faith is not understood or dependent on good outcomes, but faith in God’s goodness.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
“…in the end, the wicked will perish dramatically. But in this life they are not necessarily judged. If it were that simple, that the wicked never prospered and the righteous always thrived, people might try to be followers of God just for the blessings. The whole thrust of the Book of Job is that God Himself is reason enough to follow God, whether or not there is prosperity.” (Foundation Study Bible, Job 18:21)
“The great Christian tradition, as evidenced in the works of the early Church fathers, understood that our existence was a gift, the gift of the One who alone truly exists (“the Author of our being and our God”). Equally, He is the Good; He is the Truth; He is Beauty. Such things are not defined in themselves and then referred to God. Rather, it is seen that, apart from God, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty would have no meaning (nor existence). We long for and desire these things because we inherently long for and desire God Himself.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Christian spirituality is centered in God; in fact, its very goal is communion with God, which is attainable through the accomplishment of His will. To be what God wants us to be and to do what God want us to do is the sole meaning of our human existence. The fulfillment of the prayer “Thy will be done” is the heart and soul of all spiritual effort and activity…That human beings should be holy by sharing in the happiness of God Himself is the meaning of union with God.” (Father Thomas Hopko)
“Those seeking God through beauty, understanding, or love, are all seeking union with God, a desire that God Himself has planted in every human heart. When we are at peace, we breathe God in and become able to listen…Man is called to become by divine grace all that God Himself is by nature.” (Bishop John, Saint Maximus the Confessor)
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