Be a child of faith, not a check box
We all know that living the Orthodox Christian lifestyle is difficult. I won’t say it can be difficult. I will say it is difficult, if done properly. Between prayer schedules, fasting schedules, bible reading schedules, and services schedules, and not to mention the intricate system of sacraments and blessings, we have inherited a very complex way of life from our ancestors. Just like our Jewish ancestors, most of us have forgotten why we do what we do.
Brethren, God has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, a man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me thus?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘my beloved.'” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.'” And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved; for the Lord will execute his sentence upon the earth with rigor and dispatch.” And as Isaiah predicted, “if the Lord of hosts had not left us children, we would have fared like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah.” What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 9.18-33
Today’s reading from Romans in honor of the commemoration of the Prophet Hosea, reminds us how complex our spiritual life can be. What can be more confusing than ‘we are His people – we are not His people.’ Either God calls is His own or He does not, right? Those who were His people forgot that the way of life He gave to them, the Commandments of God, was not a system of rules and regulations. It was a system of faith.
Those who forget that our way of life isn’t about the rules and regulations, but about faith will no longer be His people, based on today’s reading. This is why, Be Transfigured Ministries is dedicated to helping others see the beauty and faith of the Orthodox Christian Way. Our fasting, prayers, etc. aren’t checklists, but faith disciplines.
The Jews were very good about checking off boxes. Even today, many pious Jews won’t even turn on a light switch on Saturday because it symbolizes lighting a fire which is considered work. Work is forbidden on the Sabbath. Yet, Christ reminds them and us, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2.27)
The Orthodox Christian Way of life was made for man, not man for the Way. We forget this sometimes. It would be like having a physical trainer set up a rigid diet for us to be more physically fit. If we go about our daily diet ‘just checking off boxes’ we will be healthier, but we may resent the trainer. If we begin every day reminding ourselves that the trainer gave us this diet to be healthier, we will not only appreciate him, but we will also most likely follow the program with more fervor. We may even share his contact information with others who want to be healthy.
It is easier to follow our many ‘rules’ if we remember the Church and our spiritual father have established the way of life for our salvation. Stop looking at rules and rules. Start looking at rules as tools. The Jews followed the rules as ‘works’ and they lost the Church. We will lose the Church also if we don’t start living the Christian Way in faith.
With faith, all the schedules and rules we keep have meaning. Without faith, they are empty check boxes. Be a child of faith, not a check box.
