The thought occurred to me this morning regarding the comprehensivity of the Orthodox faith, in comparison to the fragmentation or compartmentalization of Protestantism/Evangelicalism in America. In the Orthodox life, our faith directs and controls every aspect of our living. We live according to the church calendar, which directs our food intact, our use of time and our use of money. Our thinking is formed by the regular exposure to and involvement in, the Scriptures and the lives of the saints. Our diets are controlled and directed by the regular, consistent fasting pattern that is described in the calendar.
Because the foundation of the Orthodox faith is “love God and love neighbor”, we must think about everything that we do and how our actions connect to and are modeled by, these two standards. As Orthodox believers we strive to purge out the passions, live according to the Spirit and think the mind of Christ. Of course, we stumble and fall far too often. But confession brings us back and reminds us who we are and what Christ has done for us.
Our life should be one of reciprocity. We love God because he first loved us. We love our neighbor because God loves us, regardless of how sinful or stupid we may be. There is no neighbor who could sin against us in any way greater than we have sinned against God.
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