How can we know God’s will today without being mistaken? Move according to the law of faith, for Abram knew and loved Him Who told Him to so, and thus he believed Him, and knowing Him Who told him, he doubted not a single iota of what was said to him. Again I recall the words of the apostle Paul on the necessary conditions for knowing the will of God: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Rom. 12:2). To not accept the way of thinking, faith, and action of this age is the first step to knowing the will of God, which brings blessings and perfects faith and love for God and man. Man, created in the image and likeness, is imitative by his nature. The meaning of the word “likeness” here is to have an inclination to assimilate, to imitate, to be akin. According to the design of the Creator, man should have assimilated Him and gradually became a god by grace. But at the hinting of the devil, he decided to grasp at all the blessings and take possession of them quicker, as in a modern commercial: “Once and done.”

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The image of this age is to possess temporary material goods, no matter what and no matter who with. But modern Orthodox people have to find images to emulate in faith not in commercials, fashionable magazines, and movies of questionable content, but in the Sacred Scripture and in the fathers of the Church, and in the liturgical tradition of the Church. Only then will the will of God be understandable to us—to that extent to which it’s useful for us. According to the measure of the strengthening of faith, according to the measure of our fulfilling the commandments of Christ—humility will appear, and according to the measure of humility, love will grow. Love is not consummative, not by the principle “take everything out of life; don’t let yourself wither up,” but love is sacrificial—according to the image of Christ’s sacrifice.