Be the Reason Someone Finds Christ

It can be hard enough to live the Orthodox Christian life in our secular and pluralistic world. From the moment you leave your home for work, school or errands, you are confronted with nonstop temptation and, on a good day, people who are indifferent toward your way of life. On a ‘not so good day’ you may be confronted by people actively trying to sway you away from Christ and His way of life. That’s where the Church comes into her purpose.

Today is the feast of Saints Chrysanthos and Daria, martyrs from the late Third Century. You can read a brief story about them here. They are my inspiration for today’s blog as part of focus on the saints this year. Chrysanthos didn’t have benefit of a supportive family, but his faith in God was stronger than their desire to drag him away from Christ. Saint Daria was supposed to be the ‘bait’ but she ended up also following Christ because of the faith of Chrysanthos.

I won’t lie. It makes me sad when I encounter members of the Church not helping each other in the Christian journey. It is bad enough that we compete against each other in the secular world for business deals and real estate, but when we can’t find enough love to help each other remain close to Christ, we have lost the benefit of the Church.

Many people attend Church for social reasons, and fellowship has always been an important aspect of Church life. It is when the social life detracts from Christian life that I get sad. We are in the Great Fast, a time the Church has set aside each year for us to pay extra attention to our spiritual journey. Instead of helping each other fast, we are mocking each other on social media for posting Lenten recipes. Worse, is when we host parties during the Great Fast and expect our fellow Orthodox Christians to ‘take a break’ from fasting and attending Church services to party with us. I suppose this is how Saint Chrysanthos must have felt when his own father worked to separate him from Christ.

With the second week of the Great Fast coming to an end, and now that our bodies have grown accustomed to our new diets, this is the time to make a mental note of those around us who are actively working against our spiritual journey, so that we can be more vigilant when we are in their presence. It may be that through God’s grace and our willingness to keep the fast, despite the efforts of those around us, even those in the Church, that someone like Saint Daria will come to know Christ and repent.

Don’t be the reason someone walks away from Christ. Be the reason someone takes a step closer to Him. You will be blessed for keeping yourself from temptation, and others will be blessed by finding Christ. It is real reason we have fellowship in the Church, to help each other Live A New Life In Christ.