The Spirituality of the Christian East – 20140413

We must realize that change in a person is only truly produced by God’s grace; yet it does not occur without the participation of a person’s free will. In repentance or metanoia, free will must participate in the very act of the change itself. This change for the better and turning to God, although experienced as instantaneous, is only something that transpires over time. A person passes through several preparatory stages during which his   freedom is united with God’s grace. In these stages, grace gradually takes possession of freedom, while freedom submits itself to grace. These stages are necessary for everyone. Some people pass through them quickly, but for others its takes years. Who can understand everything that is happening here, especially since there are so many ways that grace acts upon us and the states of people upon which it acts are so innumerable? One must understand, however, that for all this variety, there is one common order of change and no one can avoid it. Everyone who repents is a person who is living in sin – and every such person is changed by grace. Therefore, based on an understanding of the state of a sinner in general and understanding the relation of freedom to grace, one can depict this process and determine its rules.

We say that all of us are, during this lifetime, in a state of sin, that is in a state of   imperfection. We were created in this manner. Life presents opportunities for us to spiritually grow, eliminating, over time, basic imperfections. Regardless of this, however, we will never achieve perfection during this lifetime nor do we have to in order to grow ever closer to deeper union with God. The joy of this earthly existence is the journey to deeper union with God. Life is the way that it is so that we are supported in our attempts at personal change. The true purpose of life is personal change and growth!

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