How God Takes Shape in Our Life: 2 Options

Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) gives his advice on how to revive God in ourselves.

To Revive God

The Incarnate Word is not an abstract notion, but a reality. God is looking for an opportunity to take shape in our lives.

He takes shape every time we fulfill His commandments and His will, when we think about Him, when we talk with Him and call to Him.

He is revived when we put our soul into a good, comforting word, when we remove ourselves from evil deeds.

We revive God in ourselves. He, Who is very much alive, may be dead to us. The death of our soul makes dead everything it touches.

No Place

We must make room for the incarnation of God. All the free space we have is occupied by meaningless junk: vain worries, unnecessary things and words, unfinished business.

As St. Augustine said, “God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them”.

The soul cannot bear to be without God. It suffocates without Him and suffers. The search for an alternative is reckless, pointless, futile and leads to nothing.

Nothing and no one can replace Him. We must allow God to take shape in our soul and life. We need to clear our thoughts and heart of garbage.

Two Options

How can we do this? There are several options.

“Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace” (Psalms 37:37). And where there is peace, there is God.

We should follow the example of those people, who are improving in that direction. There are ascetics among us who quietly and meekly perform their feats in the name of Christ.

These people can be recognized by their peaceful spirit, non-hostility, and inner beauty. To become truly beautiful, one must be initiated into beauty, one must live it in order to get to know it.

To become God’s, you need to let God into your life.

Another important condition of the incarnation of God is the acceptance of His gifts. He gives us His love, care, but we reject it, He gives us eternity, but we refuse it.

We always feel a deep sense of humility when someone loves us selflessly. We know for sure that love cannot be earned, bought, or won by force: we receive it as a gift, as a miracle. And this is the beginning of humility.

“God loves us for nothing”, said Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. And the love of God that we accept will be the beginning of the incarnation of God in our life.

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