Humility and the Divine Nature
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“And in order for the soul to develop, repentance is vital. Because a person remains in a state of spiritual death and separation from God, and the Savior comes to him to save him. Repentance is the action of someone who understands his existence as needing salvation. That is, when a person laments and weeps, he testifies that he needs a Savior, salvation, help and protection; he needs a Redeemer—Someone Who will forgive and heal him. Repentance brings a person to such a state that he begins to cry out to the Lord, and it helps him take the right place in the face of God—that is, to acquire humility… Humility is the foundation of love…Love is ontological, a matter of true being” (Priest Konstantin Korepanov, Father Stephen Freeman)
“We could talk a lot about humility. But its essence lies also in the fact that it is the ontologically correct position of man in relation to God. Man is a creation, and God is the Creator, so man is aware that he is infinitely small in the face of what is infinitely large. God is the Source of his life, and humility is merely a statement of the fact that he is nothing and God is everything. God alone has the fullness of what man can receive. And humility is not about forcing yourself or breaking your own character. Someone who has truly humbled himself has realized who he is and Who God is, and accepted it as an obvious fact.” (Priest Konstantin Korepanov)
“The prayers of a fragmented mind have neither clarity nor depth, but a mind that is reunited with the heart overflows with humble prayer and has such strength that it reaches the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee.’ Man then discovers the power of humility, and sees that the only right attitude is to render all glory and honor to God, and to himself ‘the shame of face’ because of his sins. He now puts all his trust in the Father’s mercy, and no longer in his own corrupt self, and this disposition of heart leads to true repentance.” (Archimandrite Zacharias)
“Repentance goes shopping for humility…humility is also important because it is a property of God. He is the only One Who is truly humble. That is why, by humbling ourselves and taking our natural position of the creation in the face of the Creator, in repentance we acquire Divine energies through which we assimilate humility as a Divine quality. We humble ourselves in the likeness of our humble God Who humbles Himself. Therefore, I repeat that humility is the only proper, accurate and reliable form of human existence before God. Christ says, Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (Mt. 11:29).” (St. John Climacus, Priest Konstantin Korepanov)
“…humility does not at all consist in a constant effort to belittle ourselves and to reject the human dignity with which God has endowed us, and which He requires of us, because we are precious to Him, and not slaves. As can be seen in the examples of the saints, humility is born in them not solely from an awareness of sinfulness—for even a sinner can bring to God a contrite and repentant heart, and a single word of forgiveness is enough to wipe away all evil, past and present. The humility of the saints arises from a vision of God’s glory, majesty, and beauty. Humility is born not even by contrast, but from the awareness that God is so holy, from the revelation of such perfect beauty and such astonishing love, that the only thing left to do in His presence is to fall before Him in reverence, joy, and wonder.” (Metropolitan Anthony Bloom)
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