God's Will vs Self Will (Part 2)
“How can I learn God’s will? That is, how can I penetrate into the mind of God, into what God is thinking? This is horrible! It is impermissible to even phrase the question like this! The question should be: How can I fulfill God’s will? How can I keep from being an opponent of God’s will in my life or in one or another move?...you should act according to that mind, but sincerely; and according to that conscience, but sincerely. Act sincerely—this will be your fulfillment of God’s will. Because God wants only one thing from us: that we act reasonably and according to our conscience. That we act reasonably, for God gave us light and reason. He did not call us to madness, but to reasonableness. The holy fathers said just that: “There is no virtue and goodness without discernment”—that is, without mind.” (Professor Alexei Osipov)
“The Russian theologian, Fr. Sergius Bulgakov, who was known for holding opinions that sometimes conflicted with the faith of the Church, had a very interesting take on the parable of the Sheep and the Goats. He treated those images as two things within each person rather than a distinction between different kinds of people. As such, the judgment described would be a winnowing and a purification, a saving of the Sheep, however feeble and muted its movement towards God. That manner of reading the parable is not unlike many treatments of parables in the Fathers (internal and mystical rather than external and historical/moral). My “take-away” from these thoughts has to do with the nature of the struggle that surrounds us and is within us at all times. In the darkest of moments, even when our will is in its greatest rebellion, there remains a “bridgehead” to the good, some portion that represents a foundation for repentance. The “noise” of our sin is the fury of nothingness, raging against the reality that dwells at the bridgehead.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“If there is no evil will, there will be no evil works. This means that the main thing is not works but man's inner disposition, the good or evil will of his soul and the virtuous or depraved condition of his heart, from which good or evil works are born naturally.” (Archbishop Averky Taushev)
“Our will, son, is very weak. You want to do good, but you can’t. If Saint Paul himself declares: ‘I want to do what is good, but I can’t, because inside me there’s another law, the law of sin’, then what can we say? This is why we beseech and entreat God, through prayer, to permit us to do His will always, and only His will, whether it’s sweet or bitter. Because it’s always beneficial and never harmful.” (Saint Ephraim Katounakiotis)
“The man’s paralysis [Matthew 9:1-8] is a vivid icon of the state of humanity cast out of Paradise, corrupted by our refusal to pursue the fulfillment of our calling to become like God in holiness. By disorienting ourselves from our true vocation and looking for fulfillment in gratifying our self-centered desires, we have diminished ourselves to the point of becoming as weak as the man unable to get up off the ground. Christ responded to him with healing mercy, granting the poor man strength and restoration beyond what he could ever have given himself, no matter how hard he tried. In response to the Savior’s gracious therapy, the man obeyed the command to stand up, pick up his bed, and walk home. Apart from this personal encounter with the Lord, the man would have remained enslaved to debilitating weakness, but the Savior’s healing restored his ability to move forward in a life suitable for a person who bears the image and likeness of God.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“I don’t want a life that is not touched by the will of God. I don’t want a life that does not have God’s hand and imprint. I don’t want a life where I am not continually seeking spirit and His purpose for me. Life becomes very simple when we allow God to be God. To live every day as a surrender to His will. To pray over our choices and decisions. And to know that He is with us. Always.” (Jackie Morfesis)
“There is a movement toward God, and there is a temptation toward the self. We tend to concentrate on the self when we choose; it’s the shopper’s temptation…when we catch ourselves trying to solve our personal problems with our minds, we realize the futility of this enterprise and give up the problems to the Personal Absolute. We cease trying to be our own savior, and we commend ourselves to the mercies of our true Savior.” (Father Stephen Freeman, Hieromonk Damascene Christensen)
“Self-assurance in the spiritual life is always a temptation, for to keep the word truly and bear “fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15) brings pain. If we are committed to being God’s servants, we will seek out God’s will rather than our own. We will not constantly be asking for particular things or outcomes (giving God our ‘honey do list”), as we will trust God to provide what is good and necessary for our salvation.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)
“Often, God wants to help us, but He can’t, because we don’t allow Him to draw near to us, to bring peace to our souls. We resist and close all doors to God in advance. Therefore…we must know our illness and infirmity well, realize and accept it, and say: “This is how I am, and I throw myself before God as I am”—then and only then will you be able to find peace of soul…As fish live in the sea, so we live in the ocean of God’s grace. The ebbs and flow of the Almighty’s lovingkindness carry us where His goodness would have us go. If we fight against the currents of God’s will, we soon sink with exhaustion. And if we think we must earn whatever goodness we can, we choose to live and die outside the waters of God’s mercy.” (St. John Climacus, Metropolitan Athanasios, Fr. Basil)
“Let us put aside our own will and accept God’s will, and we will receive Heaven into ourselves. “God gave us the freedom to choose,…between good and evil, between the creature and the Creator, between our own selves and God. Let us choose God and His will, and we will not lose, but rather broaden and affirm our freedom. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” as Holy Scripture teaches us. Let us sweep away false human freedom and live by obedience and humility—an example of which was given to us by the Most Holy Virgin Mary—so that we might acquire the All-Holy Spirit of God. Then we will feel that great, divine freedom and become the true Israel, acquiring a mind that beholds God and communes with Him face to face.” (Hieromonk Pavel Shcherbachev, St. Philaret)
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