But trust and fidelity depend on us! Therefore, the first step must be ours, if we want to believe (meet, know God, or better say, so that God finds us, sees us, meets us), to become believers and, as a result, faithful! Let’s correct ourselves – our second step, that is, the state of trust, which arises as a reaction (agreement) to the Gospel. What the preacher of the Resurrection of Christ talks about – wonderful, miraculous, something ‘incredible’, something that goes beyond the creaturely experience. What the Church proclaims – could not have arisen from the earth – a person could not have invented this! (It’s very easy to verify this – discuss these issues with Alexey Osipov or with me by email; we will try to talk a little about it in the next parts, when we will address the proclaimed, who are preparing for baptism or repentance-confession with the renewal of baptismal vows – these two categories of the proclaimed (unfortunately, this is almost all the people of the planet!) return to the Body of Christ, the Church). What is then required of me? To want to verify whether it really is as it is proclaimed! That is, having around me such a cloud of witnesses (God-seers, who for two thousand years – multitudes and multitudes of saints – with their lives and their ‘death’ testify to the Resurrection), to trust them (having previously verified whether they can be trusted, and giving myself an account on what basis I trust them), and to check myself: whether reality is really as they (analogously, similarly ‘advertise’) depict it. So that we can say along with the Samaritans, that we no longer believe because of your word (apostles, missionaries, preachers) (we do not only trust you, ‘believe’ on the word), but we ourselves have seen, known and our hands have touched the incorruptible ribs of the Risen one.
‘Go and see’. This path, which leads to the knowledge of God, has been paved for two thousand years so compacted (although now it has started to be overgrown with grass – very few people want to check whether everything is really as the Gospel of the Church, which Christians preach, says), that those who sincerely want to meet Christ (sincerely, in truth – this is very important; because whoever deceives themselves and does not seek the truth, love in truth – such will not be able to withstand the meeting with Christ-Truth) and will go along the path (parish Eucharistic life) of the Holy Fathers and Mothers in humbleWISDOM and trusting (extremely judicious!) simplicity – will be found by Christ, met by Him on this path (of trust-verification), when He alone deems it appropriate (by the benevolent providence).
Since we need to approach the True God in truth, truly (and we are in a catastrophic state: we do not want paradise, nor are we afraid of hell – complete deadness. That is, we cannot say that we are going to God, because we are poor in spirit, hungry, thirsty (these symptoms of godlessness appear in the process of moving along the path of trust-verification, and even before it!), that is, fearing hell (torments), or that we strongly desire the Lord, having fallen in love with His image (which is accessible to us from the preaching of the Gospel of the Church), – that is, wanted (desired with desire) erotically paradise! We have neither the first nor the second motivation to meet God. And then how in truth, not pretending (that, say, I love God, or fear ‘hellish’ (hellish) torments), to come to Christ and meet Him. To break the chains of this complex dilemma and to encourage those who still want to want, we will give a pointer on how to come to God truthfully (with true motivation) – it is CURIOSITY! Simple curiosity (selfless) and animal hunger (not spiritual, high, eternal, but animal need – someone got sick, a tragedy happened, need to solve earthly problems or just biologically survive, that is, the motivation is such: You, God, are not needed for me, You mean nothing to me, You are nobody to me, but help me solve these and other problems… after you help, You will not become more valuable to me, perhaps you may be needed as a ‘magic wand (lifesaver)’, ‘fairy’, who fulfills all my wishes…) – this is our only truth (for most people), with which we can honestly come to God (in truth). Because the deceitful (illusory) will diverge from God (Truth) (until they repent).
Let’s give two examples from the Gospel, which will encourage us on the path of trust-verification. The story about the tax collector Zacchaeus (a sinner and oppressor – about which he himself, repenting, testified about himself). He needed nothing from Jesus (no healing, no wealth: he was rich and healthy (once climbed a fig tree!?)) – only one curiosity (selfless!) drove his actions and it was this that prompted Zacchaeus to take on a certain feat – to climb a fig tree, to rise above the earth (discuss this fragment of the Gospel67 verbal icon and all its main strokes-symbols with the holy fathers) – and a miracle happened: God saw him and entered his life, the fruits of which were evident. That is, Zacchaeus, having met God, having received Him in his own house (in the core of his being), having communicated with Him – experienced God, that is, became a believing, knowing Christ God. Yes, Jesus went further, and Zacchaeus remained faithful to that meeting and the change that occurred in him during the communication (knowing, abiding in faith) with God. It all started with simple curiosity (moreover, selfless), but during the labor of checking the rumors, something happened that enabled him to receive God into his home!