Curious?

If you have noticed, my postings have been rather scarce as of late.  I have recently discovered www.quora.com, a great website for posting and answering questions.  I am beginning to think that this site may be a really good medium to try to offer up some Orthodox answers to questions that people are actually asking.  I've been receiving some good attention and questions.  So if you are interested, you can check out my posts there as well.
I will still post here from time to time, but probably not as often.  We'll see.....

Sacred/Secular?

It is a common mode of thought in American, Evangelical, Protestantism to think in the dualistic terms of sacred and secular.  For many years, I tried very hard to categorize everything into this kind of world.  Everything was to be black or white, right or wrong, sacred or secular.  As I have become Orthodox in my life and worship, I have come to realize just how Old Covenant this kind of thinking is.
In the time prior to the resurrection, everything was categorized this way.  Everything could be compared to and run through the filter of external law.  Granted this is not to suggest that this was an easy task or one that was not abused via manipulation and verbal/literary gymnastics, but the worldview was there.  Since we have moved beyond the infancy of the Old Covenant and have moved into the New, we must change our thinking to fit.
We must not think in terms of law, black and white or a simple "draw a line in the sand."  Life is far too complex and "big" for our little brains.  Instead, our lives should be lived out in terms of our movement toward holiness and our relationship with God.  We need to ask, "Is this thing helping me or holding me back in my drive toward holiness?  Is this thing (physical, conceptual or otherwise) helping me keep my thoughts on loving God and loving neighbor, or is it simply a distraction to entertain me?"
But this is a question we must ask only ourselves and not try to impose on others.  This questions is deeply personal and must be discussed with our priest or spiritual father.  Everyone is in a different place with different needs, weaknesses and locale.  This is not to suggest that what is sin is different for different people.  Sin is sin.  But again, we must never impose on another.  Someone else's place typically cannot be known to us, looking in from the outside.  At most, we can only pose questions, and then pray for those we know and love, that they would continue to grow in holiness.

Balance

Over the years, I have heard stories and explanations about what we should expect as we enter the afterlife.  Sometimes, especially in Protestant churches, one hears the stereotypical hellfire and brimstone sermon.  Other times, one gets the impression that God is the old man in the sky, winking at our sins, allowing anyone, except maybe mass murderers, into heaven.
In Orthodox circles, things are a little more balanced and solid, but there still seems to be a bit of back and forth.  On one hand, we hear how God wants all men to be saved, that God is a merciful and patient God, giving us long life, in order to repent.  But on the other hand, one reads stories of monks who have struggled all of their lives, striving after holiness, only to approach death with much fear, afraid that they will be turned away from heavens gate. 
I would be the last one to criticize a monk, but I really struggle to accept the idea that God would turn anyone away, especially one who has fought long and hard to love him with all of their heart.  Jesus taught us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  But one also had to realize that it is a yoke and it is a burden.
So we must strive to keep a balanced view.  We must work hard to walk the path of holiness, for it is a narrow path and we are fighting against an ungodly culture and our own fallen, corrupted natures.  But at the same time, God really, really loves us and wants us to be with him.  If we make use of the tools he has given us (church, prayer, repentance, confession, and the sacraments), we can be assured that he will be faithful and help us succeed and keep our faith, to the end.  The Christian faith is a battle, but God wants us to be holy and if we let him, he will do what it takes to get us there.