By St. Theophan the Recluse
Yesterday the Apostle armed the Christian who sets out
upon the path of salvation with the whole spiritual
armor. Now he shows who the leaders are in this battle
procession, and what is the final bright goal of all for
our inspiration in times of hardship. The leaders are
pastors and teachers, whom the Lord gave to the Church and
through whose mouth He Himself utters guiding direction
needful for all, as soon as one turns to such leaders with
faith and prayerful appeal to the Lord. Those who
selflessly walk the Lord’s path know this truth, as
do those who lead a struggle with the enemies of salvation
without pity for themselves. In their pastors they always
find help and are brought to understanding, when, looking
from the outside, such help could not be anticipated. For
they do not come to men, but to the Lord, who is always
prepared to direct and give understanding through such
men, to anyone who sincerely and with faith seeks help
from Him. The final bright goal is the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ—the
stature of a perfect man (Eph. 4:13). We all know
what a perfect man is in the usual order of things, and we
could hardly find a person who would not wish to attain
such perfection. But the meaning of a perfect man
in the Lord is something not known to anyone other than
those who have entered into that stature. This, however,
should not cool one’s fervor for the attainment of
such a stature, but on the contrary should kindle it even
more; for this lack of knowledge is due to the height of
that spiritual perfection which is called a manly stature
in a life according to God. The Apostle defined this as
the taking on of the fullness of perfections revealed in
the Lord and Savior. Anyone can see that there is reason
for us to apply all diligence (II Pet. 1:5) toward
our calling.