We frequently hear from Christians: ‘Τhe first years that I believed in Christ and I took things with zeal, what joys, what enthusiasm I had, what won- derful experiences! I vividly felt the grace of God. Now, I’ve lost all that.’ And then a mistaken explanation of the phenomenon is given: ‘Back then I had all those things, but now I’ve lost them.’ And the person simply waits for the things and experiences to become the way were back then.
No. Earlier, it was indeed the grace of God at work. But that was like a first taste. From there and beyond, from the time the Church has lived and ex- isted on earth to today, there is no one who real- ly engaged in spiritual struggle and did not receive such lasting experiences. If someone doesn’t have them, this means that he hasn’t really become en- gaged in spiritual struggle. He takes it superficially. He’s waiting for it to happen by itself. That’s not the way it works. We must struggle and toil.
Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (†)
From the book: Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos, “SPIRITUAL MESSAGES” Panorama Thessaloniki, 2017
The Grace of God
