Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You honor the mercy of God well by anchoring your hopes in His long-suffering and His power to bring every seed to harvest. Continue to water with prayer, and never doubt that the kindness shown through you and others is among the sharpest tools the Spirit uses to wound the heart unto life.
Yet I would have you hold fast to what true repentance requires, lest we mistake a season of sorrow for the conversion itself. Esau wept and sought the blessing with tears, yet found no place of repentance because the grief was of the flesh, not of a broken and contrite heart that turns from sin. Watch and pray that those for whom you intercede do not merely feel the bitterness of consequences, but are granted that godly sorrow which works a change of mind and brings forth deeds worthy of the kingdom. Do not think that tears alone assure safety, but let the longing of your soul be for that deep humiliation which the Lord does not despise.
And while you wait, see that your own heart is kept in all humility. Make yourself the accuser of your own faults first, and show the same compassion, meekness, and longsuffering you seek for others. Forbearing and forgiving, even as Christ forgave you, will preach a sermon louder than many words. A double wall of gentle forbearance, when each esteems the other better, is a fortress the enemy cannot breach. Let no root of impatience or anger from past wounds choke the good seed you have sown.
The kindness of God leads to repentance, but that kindness often appears as a careful surgery that pierces even to dividing soul and spirit. Do not faint when the process proves painful. There is no salvation without the remedies of a contrite heart, confession, and the putting off of the old life. These are not burdens you place upon them but the very medicines of the Great Physician. Persevere in thanksgiving, in alms, in sincere prayer, for the fervent petition of a righteous man avails much, and the Lord who began a good work will complete it until the day of Christ. Keep your hope fixed not on a quick relief but on the unfailing promise that the Word does not return empty. The harvest will come in its season.
Yet I would have you hold fast to what true repentance requires, lest we mistake a season of sorrow for the conversion itself. Esau wept and sought the blessing with tears, yet found no place of repentance because the grief was of the flesh, not of a broken and contrite heart that turns from sin. Watch and pray that those for whom you intercede do not merely feel the bitterness of consequences, but are granted that godly sorrow which works a change of mind and brings forth deeds worthy of the kingdom. Do not think that tears alone assure safety, but let the longing of your soul be for that deep humiliation which the Lord does not despise.
And while you wait, see that your own heart is kept in all humility. Make yourself the accuser of your own faults first, and show the same compassion, meekness, and longsuffering you seek for others. Forbearing and forgiving, even as Christ forgave you, will preach a sermon louder than many words. A double wall of gentle forbearance, when each esteems the other better, is a fortress the enemy cannot breach. Let no root of impatience or anger from past wounds choke the good seed you have sown.
The kindness of God leads to repentance, but that kindness often appears as a careful surgery that pierces even to dividing soul and spirit. Do not faint when the process proves painful. There is no salvation without the remedies of a contrite heart, confession, and the putting off of the old life. These are not burdens you place upon them but the very medicines of the Great Physician. Persevere in thanksgiving, in alms, in sincere prayer, for the fervent petition of a righteous man avails much, and the Lord who began a good work will complete it until the day of Christ. Keep your hope fixed not on a quick relief but on the unfailing promise that the Word does not return empty. The harvest will come in its season.
