“God gave us a mind in order that we might learn and receive help from Him, not in order that the mind should be self-sufficient. Eyes are beautiful and useful, but if they choose to see without light, their beauty is useless and may even be harmful. Likewise, if my soul chooses to see without the Spirit, it becomes a danger to itself.…we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, making us capable of spiritual discernment…The indwelling Spirit works in and through our spirits, illuminating our hearts and instructing us in the mind of Christ.” (St. John Chrysostom, Dynamis 7/28/2021)
“God not only gives us life in Christ, but He also gives us what is essential for living this new life: the power of the life-giving Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit we grow in Christ, having a Teacher within us whose guidance we heed. He may be inaccessible to the “natural man” (vs. 14), yet He gives us the possibility of personal transformation…Until you have given up yourself to Him you will not have a real self...” (Dynamis 7/28/2021, C.S. Lewis)
“Complacency begins when we no longer see the gift of each new day, when we lose our gratitude for what we have been given. God gives us all things simply because He loves us, yet He lets us work for these things so we will appreciate them more.” (Metropolitan Joseph)
“The central work of the Christian life is to enter the heart through prayer, so that God’s grace will give us the treasure He has buried there. God gives us fortunes! As we strive to remain in His presence through prayer, His gifts become more available to us, transforming everything we do. By laboring at prayer, we uncover His riches. As we persist, aided by the Holy Spirit, we discover that the divine treasure is God. According to Archimandrite Sophrony, the moment we find God, the great Treasure, “love and cognition merge into a single act”…By directing our efforts toward meeting our Lord in the heart, we have hope for right action: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn 14:15).” (Dynamis 7/22/2020)
“God gives a clean heart and a new and right Spirit to man that he might love Him in return with all of his heart. This is given in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in the Church of the new and everlasting covenant. It is given that man might fulfill the first and greatest commandment of God..[to love Him and others and to become fully human in doing so].” (Fr. Thomas Hopko)