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ALEXANDR:

I suspect that St. John would agree with this paraphrase for those of us who are of the laity:

"So long as you remain a Christian, you will be like a brave soldier who faces the blows of the enemy; and God will commend you, because even when struck you refused to surrender or run away. But if you give up the struggle, running away like a coward and a deserter, the enemy will strike you in the back; and you will lose your freedom of communion with God.

Thank God for you, first of all, and thank you for posting this thought-provoking passage.

In Christ,

BOB

Bob,

Whether we are of the laity or bound by monastic habit, we strive for the same goal, and face the same enemy. I heard once the laity compared to the Army and monasticism compared to Special Forces. The enemy sends his crack troops against the special forces, but does not overlook the army by any means.
So yes, your paraphrase is a very apt adaptation for the laity, in my humble opinion.

Alexandr

One who has an evil heart should not despair, for with God�s help, one can correct his heart. He must only remain vigilant and miss no opportunity to help his neighbors. He must open himself up before his elder, and must be as charitable as possible. This, of course cannot be accomplished all at once, but the Lord is very patient. He brings a person�s life to an end only when He sees him ready to depart into eternity or when he sees no hope for his correction.

Counsels of the Venerable Elder St. Amvrossy of Optina

Alexandr

" . . . or when He sees no hope for his correction."

What a chilling thought, though so true, given human nature and the fickleness of the human heart. I guess this is something that should be taped to the mirror so we could see it at the beginning and the end of each day.

Lord Jesus, give us the grace You know we need so that we may never be found in this state.

BOB

The dearest thing of all for the Christian is the Truth, for the sake of witnessing to which the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, as He Himself said to Pilate (Jn 18:37). And for the true Christian there can be only one desirable unity--unity in the Truth of Christ--the pure, undistorted, uncorrupted Truth, without any admixture of diabolic falsehood, not envenomed by any compromise with it. From this point of view, all these appeals for "peace" and "unity" are unacceptable, for they come from people who encroach on our principal treasure--the pure and undefiled truth of the teaching of Christ that has been preserved by us, and who wish to substitute for it a lie which is of the devil. The "unity" which is now envisaged by the enemies of the pure truth of Christ is not unity in Christ. It is that unity which the Antichrist, who wishes to subject all to himself and to found his kingdom on earth, is striving to create.

"On the Situation of the Orthodox Christian in the Contemporary World by Archbishop Averky of Syracuse


Alexandr

You know what, I've thought this for a long time. It's good to see that my speculation is backed up by someone greater than myself.

It would also explain the actions of those who are murderers or martyrs.

I'm thinking of the Columbine massacre in which there was a girl who was staring down the barrel of a gun and was asked whether or not she believed in God. She said yes, was killed and received her reward ("Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father." - Mat 10:32)

Whereas those demon obsessed boys ended their lives by killing themselves. ("Now the works of the flesh are manifest: which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects,envies, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God." -Gal 5:19-21)

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to sit in judgment on those kids, just stating what seems to be what Scripture teaches. I hope and pray that everyone who was killed that day is in heaven.

This good zeal has always inspired our Most Holy Church to offer up liturgical petitions such as: "gather the dispersed; bring back those who have gone astray, and unite them to Thy Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." This good zeal expands the hearts of Orthodox Christians to pray unceasingly for the repentance and the return of those who belong to other denominations and other religions, and of the whole world , to the light of our Holy Faith.

St Nectarios of Aegina

Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. For that is truly and in the strictest sense 'Catholic,' which, as the name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all priests and doctors.

St. Vincent of Lerins, A Commonitory.

...[the devil] sees the strength and firmness of will of those who pay attention to spiritual life, and strives to conquer their mind by means of ... curiosity, in order to gain possession of their mind and will. For this purpose he is wont to suggest to them thoughts that are lofty, subtle and wondrous, especially to those who are sharp-witted and quick to make lofty speculations. Attracted by the pleasure of possessing and examining such lofty thoughts, they forget to watch over their purity of heart...; they make an idol of their own mind and thus, little by little, without realizing it, they fall into the thought that they no longer need any advice or admonition from others, since they are accustomed in all cases to hasten to the idol of their own understanding and judgment.

Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 9)

"Good and God-loving men accuse people of something bad when they are present, but when they are absent they not only refrain from accusing them, but do not permit others to do so when they attempt to speak of them."

From St. Anthony the Great (170 Texts on Saintly Life no. 30)

Christanity is similar to tasting deeply of truth, eating and drinking of truth - to eat and drink on and on unto power and energy. It is like a certain spring when someone very thirsty begins to drink from it. But then, while he is drinking, someone rushes him off before he has drunk his fill. Afterward, he burns more ardently, because he has tasted the water and eagerly seeks it. So also in the spiritual life, a person tastes and partakes of the heavenly food, but while he is eating it is taken away and no one given him to eat his fill.

St. Macarius the Great, Fifty Spiritual Homilies.

There are five occupations which help to gain God's benevolence. The first is pure prayer; the second, psalmody; the third, reading the Holy Scriptures; the fourth, contrite remembrance of one's sins, of death and the terrible judgment; the fifth, work with one's hands.

"Reflections on the Eight Thoughts", Abba Evagrius, translated from the Russian text, "Dobrotolubiye."

The antichrist must be understood as spiritual phenomenon...,why will everyone in the world want to bow down to him, obviously it is because there is something in him that responds to something in us, that something being lack of Christ in us, if we will bow down to him (God forbid that we do so) it will be because we feel an attraction to some kind external thing which might even look like Christianity since antichrist means the one that is in place of Christ or looks like Christ.

Fr Seraphim Rose Not of this world p772

Labor to acquire thanksgiving toward God for everything, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and then you will find peace.

St. Barsanuphius

'A faithful friend is beyond price' (Eccles. 6:15), since he regards his friend's misfortunes as his own and suffers with him, sharing his trials until death.

St. Maximos the Confessor, Fourth Century on Love