WRITTEN BY: Catechist Branislav Ilić, editor of the portal „Kinonia“
What is true Christian love? The most important example of love is our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved the world so much that he died on the cross for our sins. He spread his arms on the cross, as if embracing all of humanity. Do we, following the example of our Saviour, have sacrificial love for our neighbours? We are used to doing good only to those who do the same to us, but the Lord says in the Gospel: “If you do good to those who do good to you, what is the benefit? Even the Gentiles do the same.” Our love must be sacrificial. If we love someone, we are ready to do everything for them. And that is why the Lord says: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
It is not easy and simple to achieve such love, it takes a struggle, active faith and perseverance. It is a gradual path. The first thing we must learn is to forgive offenses. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov theologizes about the power of forgiveness in the following way: “Forgive those who have offended you, even if your heart resists.” Therefore, we are called to forgive regardless of the offense, because all this is sent to us by the Lord, so that by enduring offenses we may become better. The forgiveness of our sins depends on this, and the text of the Lord’s Prayer reminds us of this, in which, among other things, we say: “Forgive us (Lord), as we also forgive our debtors.” The apostle says: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” If we strive to fulfill this law, the Lord will not abandon us.
The next step in the manifestation of our love is almsgiving. By giving alms to the poor and needy, we not only show our love, but also store up treasure for ourselves in heaven. In these difficult times, everyone needs support, but unfortunately, from one year to the next, and from one day to the next, there is less and less love, and where there is no love, there is no Lord. The holy fathers tell us: “Hurry to do good, because the time is short.” Indeed, our life is very short, so we must make every effort to fulfill the commandment of love. If we give alms from a pure heart, if we help those who need help and if we forgive those who have offended us, we will be honoured to hear the Lord say: “Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Saint John Chrysostom says: “When you do a good deed, do not seek thanks, lest you become indebted to God Himself, who said: ‘Lend to him from whom you hope to receive nothing.’ God Himself said: ‘He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord.’” The Christian way of life reminds us daily that God rewards good deeds a hundredfold, but only if the person who does them does not expect gratitude in return.
Christ tells us that we must love one another. He calls us to do deeds of love for everyone. He who is Love also calls us to be evangelists of love, which is why we are called to love every person, everyone we meet, known and unknown. We may not like a person as a human being, perhaps they are foreign to us, perhaps they are incomprehensible to us – but God has called and placed them in the world so that through their existence they can contribute to this world what we are unable to contribute. We must learn to look at every person we meet and say: This is an icon of Christ, this is an image of God, this person is a messenger of God, he was sent to teach me something. Saint Nile of Sinai says: “Blessed is the man who respects every man as a god after God.” Indeed, love for every person is one of the best qualities, it contains great power. Learning to forgive offenses, to pray for our enemies and to do good to the pious and the wicked alike, we gradually become more like God, drawing ever closer to our Heavenly Father.
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov writes: “He who has achieved love for his enemies has achieved perfection in love for his neighbour, and the door of love for God has opened to him of its own accord.” Orthodox Christians are those who rightly glorify God, who live their earthly lives so that God is glorified in them, and those around them are illuminated by the indescribable light of true faith that emanates from Orthodox souls and hearts. We must set an example of living in Christ. Through mercy, we must awaken mercy and compassion in our neighbours. Through meekness and tenderness of heart, we must calm those who are in strife and those who are burdened with passions. Through peace of mind, we must create peace in society. Through love for our enemies, we must imitate the perfection of our Heavenly Father, revealed to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, who called us: “Be perfect, therefore, as your Father who is in heaven is perfect!”
The shortest and surest path to the blessed goal is the fulfillment of Christ’s commandments, for the Saviour, having come into the world as God and Man, showed all of us through the example of His earthly life how to fulfill these commandments. The Lord Himself showed His disciples, and through them to all of us, the possibility of fulfilling what He commanded. “Every deed and every word of our Saviour Jesus Christ is a rule of piety and virtue,” says St. Basil the Great. The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian emphasizes: “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments” (2 John 1:6). St. John Chrysostom adds: “The soul of the righteous,” says the Saviour, “cannot be conquered by anything, for it is founded on a rock. And He calls the rock the fortress of His doctrine.” For truly, His commandments are far more solid than a rock. With their help, a person rises above all human commotion. For he who carefully observes them overcomes not only human persecution, but also the wiles of the devil.”
To abide in love means to abide in God. Love is that mysterious sword that separates the disciples of Christ from the disciples of demons. Love is the heavenly fire that Christ brought to earth; this fire must transform man. Without the fire of love, the soul of man remains cold. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian constantly repeated these words at the end of his earthly life: “Children, love one another – it is all.” The criterion of our faith is love. True faith manifests itself through love and charity, which are as inseparable from it as warmth and light from fire. When faith is lost, then hope is extinguished and love disappears.
By fulfilling the Lord’s commandments and doing deeds of love for all, we will fill ourselves and our lives with God’s blessings that will illuminate every corner of our being. Life is given to us so that by living virtuously and piously, we can prepare ourselves and each other for the encounter with the Lord, with the hope that the God of love will recognize us as His own: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your master.”