Individuals and Society

The energies of God are manifest in the life of the Church in order to bring our lives to perfection, and to make us responsible and loving human beings.

Of the fruits of Worship are the gifts of the Spirit. In what is probably the earliest written work in the western New Testament, the letter to the Galatian church, Saint Paul identified these gifts as: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness, and self-control." These are the cultivated virtues and free gifts of a Christ-like life. It is by these fruits that our lives are testimonies of our faith and our walking of the Way. Of the fruits of Worship are the gifts of Wisdom which are sometimes referred to as understanding, insight, intuition, healing, equanimity, enlightenment. These gifts testify to the fact that the love of God and the love of neighbour are inseparable.

It is for this reason that the Church of the East calls on each and every member to be involved in philanthropic actions of societal reform and assistance to the needy. This is in no way to be a duty simply performed for duty's sake but acts of self-giving love and holy labour. Only under these circumstances is the process of theosis to be facilitated in the human spirit. When we share with others the burdens of their world and when we engage others in acts of societal reform, are we exercising our love for others - which is a measure of our love for God. In this context the text of the Gospel of Matthew 25:34ff speaks to us directly in that we can only expect to gain in spiritual growth to the measure that we mete out our love for others.

 

 

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May the Peace of God be yours, may you gain the Light you seek and may Truth come to you at the time you require it. 

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