What’s the meaning and goal of one’s life ?

 

Elder Nikon. Mount Athos, Greece

 

-The universal meaning of an Orthodox Christian’s life, is the acquisition of the Kingdom of Heaven. But how can someone understand the meaning of their earthly life ?  their calling, their mission in life ?

Given that our life’s mission is acquiring the Kingdom of Heaven we know what the meaning of our life is. We will acquire the Kingdom of Heaven, how ? Firstly, if we acquire the Kingdom of love, here in this world. When we are able to love here, to show our love to others, to live with love, with humility. Then we’ve already acquired  the Kingdom of Heaven and the real issue is to struggle not to lose it. If we continue loving and continue showing our love in our daily life, we won’t lose it. Not only to have love for others inside us. No one will remember you for how you think. They will remember you for how you’ve lived. Your thoughts won’t remain in the world. The acts that resulted from your thoughts, your deeds, your life will stay and affect the world and the ones you love. When we live as Christians, even if we don’t realize it we have already began to live in another space, in another world. In the world of love. Everything else will pass away (and the faith, the hope)… what will remain, forever, is love. As long as we keep love we are already at the outer doors of Kingdom of Heaven. And as long as love increases and we catch up to people we hva known that have reached unbelievable heights of love just like Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona. None else has been slandered like him. No other person has been accused as much as he was accused. No man has been dragged through the mud, as much as they’ve tried to do to him. Nevertheless he always had a loving word about the people that accused him, that swore at him, the ones that slandered him. He had always the best possible words to say about everyone. Once I had told him : -  Elder, so and so said this that about you. – Pray, my boy, because he is under a great temptation and is in need of prayers. When we reach such hights of love, then we know that we are already in the Kingdom of Heaven … now. Given that others have made it, we can too. If we can’t do it it means we aren’t struggling correctly. Somewhere in our struggle we’re doing something wrong. That is why we need to have the lives of the Saints, as a mirror not just the ancient ones, the contemporary ones as well – Saints will always exist – and by looking at them as into a mirror, we will see what we are missing. Do I have the level of forgiveness of Ephraim of Arizona? Do I have the patience     of Ephraim of Arizona? Do I have the unbelievable, incomprehensible, unthinkable love of Ephraim of Arizona has? Then, I’ll be saved. That’s exactly why people like Saint Nektarios and Ephraim and I refer to those two, because they were slandered as no one else ever before them in modern times. When we reach their levels of love, we will know that we have been saved and know that what Christ said is truth and they are hated precisely because they are the proof of the truth of Christ’s teachings. If the things that Christ said were lies Ephraim of Arizona and Saint Nektarios before him would never have succeeded in all they accomplished. So we’ve no excuses. Since some could and succeeded we can too. The Saint Silouan used to say : “I was begging God to forgive my sins and God not only forgave my sins, but he granted me Paradise as well”. So we realize God doesn’t provide in a stingy way. You ask for a little, He gives a lot. A Hymn in our Church says : “the One who holds the vessel of the endless gifts”. He who has the cup of the gifts which are never emptied and never end. “God doesn’t give in a stingy way”. God doesn’t give a little. We ask for little, He gives much and our examples are : Ephraim of Arizona and Saint Nektarios and Saint Silouan and all the Saints.

By : St. Panteleimon monastery