If the Lord should give you power to raise the dead, He would give much less than He does when he bestows suffering. By miracles you would make yourself debtor to Him, while by suffering He may become debtor to you. And even if sufferings had no other reward than being able to bear something for that God who loves you, is not this a great reward and a sufficient remuneration? Whoever loves, understands what I say.
Interpretation
Suffering can bring us closer to God and holds greater value than miraculous power.
This quote by Saint John Chrysostom reflects the profound idea that enduring suffering can create a deeper bond with God, as it involves unconditional love and the ability to bear hardship for the sake of that love. Unlike miracles, which may put us in a position of debt to God, suffering allows us to contribute to our spiritual growth and relationship with the divine, suggesting that love and understanding are the true rewards of suffering.
In practice
This quote could be shared in a sermon discussing the value of enduring challenges.
No one has ever been accused for not providing ornaments, but for those who neglect their neighbour a hell awaits with an inextinguishable fire and torment in the company of the demons. Do not, therefore, adorn the church and ignore your afflicted brother, for he is the most precious temple of all.
It is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life.
When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving (all these are attributes of God), to be generous, to love their follow men, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them.
Abba Moses asked Abba Sylvanus, Can a person lay a new foundation every day? The old man replied, If you work hard, you can lay a new foundation every moment. Abba Pimen said, To throw yourself before God, not to measure your progress, to leave behind all self-will; these are the instruments for the work of the soul. The desire to rule is the mother of heresies.
I hear no one boast, that he hath a knowledge of the Scriptures, but that he owneth a Bible written in golden characters. And tell me then, what profiteth this? The Holy Scriptures were not given to us that we should enclose them in books, but that we should engrave them upon our hearts.
Prayer should be the means by which I, at all times, receive all that I need, and, for this reason, be my daily refuge, my daily consolation, my daily joy, my source of rich and inexhaustible joy in life.
I seek the lessons God wants to teach me, and that means that I ask why.
Whatever your goal in life, the beginning is knowledge and experience
You can put a new shirt on your back, slide a fresh chain around your neck, and accumulate all the money and power in the world, but at the end of the day those are just layers. Money and power don't change you, they just further expose your true self.
Age brings a freedom. When you're young, you're much more subject to the idea of what feminine is or how you should look or how you should behave.
Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.
My idea of rich is that you can buy every book you ever want without looking at the price and you're never around assholes. That's the two things to really fight for in life.
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