Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You speak of your son's search for a career, his struggle with boredom, and the chains of habits that hold him back. But consider what makes a son true. Timothy was called Paul's own son in the faith, sharing not in substance but in something greater: a likeness of soul through belief. A man is not defined by his work but by whose he is. Pray that your son becomes God's own son through steadfast faith, for that is the source of true peace and wisdom. The woman with the issue of blood heard "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you whole." Faith turned her into a daughter and brought healing. So too for your son: the habits and addictions that plague him are the disease, and faith is the remedy that makes him whole and gives him a new identity, no longer a slave to boredom, but a child of the King.
The sorrow you see in him now is like the travail of childbirth. A mother endures pain, but forgets it all when a man is born into the world. This present struggle with direction and purpose is not meaningless suffering. It is the pang that precedes a birth into life and joy. Do not marvel that he must pass through such sorrow to reach his advantage. The departing from destructive habits and aimlessness is like passing from the dark womb into light. The Lord Himself spoke of His own resurrection this way: that pain lingers for a night, but joy comes with the morning. This is your hope.
And when fear grips him, remember the women at the tomb. They came with fear and great joy, and Jesus met them saying, "Be not afraid." He Himself casts out fear to make way for faith, and sends good tidings to His brethren. So pray that your son hears that same voice dispelling his terror about the future. Let him know that if he is coming out of his old life, Christ meets him on the path, and the true end is not a career alone, but the sending forth into a life of purpose, bearing the news that he has been made a brother of the King.
You ask that he know how deeply he is loved by God. This is the summit. For if the kings of the earth do not take tribute from their own sons, how much more is the Son of the King of Heaven free? God does not deal with His own children as subjects to be taxed with despondency and emptiness. He gives them the kingdom itself. The comparison fails unless we speak of a true, genuine Son, the one who is of the Father's very substance. Through faith, your son is brought into that family, not as a servant scanning the horizon for a career, but as an heir with an inheritance of righteousness. The blessing is not found in the absence of trial; David declares, "Blessed are those whose sins are covered." The greatest happiness lies not in a filled schedule but in a forgiven soul. Noah condemned the world by faith, and your son overcomes the world's pull toward destructive pleasures not by willpower alone, but by that same faith, becoming an heir of righteousness.
Cease then to tremble only for his worldly condition. Cling instead to what makes him truly a son. For when he is God's own son in the faith, then he finds good friends, not by chasing after them, but because the household of God surrounds him. His life fills with purpose, not because boredom is banished by distraction, but because he is about his Father's business. His mind beholds not merely the unseen career path, but the unseen God, and in that vision, all lesser lights are rightly ordered. Pray then not only for his circumstances, but that he would hear that sweet word, "Son, be of good cheer." For then shall he be made whole, and the travailing soul shall give birth to a man who walks in the light of resurrection joy.
The sorrow you see in him now is like the travail of childbirth. A mother endures pain, but forgets it all when a man is born into the world. This present struggle with direction and purpose is not meaningless suffering. It is the pang that precedes a birth into life and joy. Do not marvel that he must pass through such sorrow to reach his advantage. The departing from destructive habits and aimlessness is like passing from the dark womb into light. The Lord Himself spoke of His own resurrection this way: that pain lingers for a night, but joy comes with the morning. This is your hope.
And when fear grips him, remember the women at the tomb. They came with fear and great joy, and Jesus met them saying, "Be not afraid." He Himself casts out fear to make way for faith, and sends good tidings to His brethren. So pray that your son hears that same voice dispelling his terror about the future. Let him know that if he is coming out of his old life, Christ meets him on the path, and the true end is not a career alone, but the sending forth into a life of purpose, bearing the news that he has been made a brother of the King.
You ask that he know how deeply he is loved by God. This is the summit. For if the kings of the earth do not take tribute from their own sons, how much more is the Son of the King of Heaven free? God does not deal with His own children as subjects to be taxed with despondency and emptiness. He gives them the kingdom itself. The comparison fails unless we speak of a true, genuine Son, the one who is of the Father's very substance. Through faith, your son is brought into that family, not as a servant scanning the horizon for a career, but as an heir with an inheritance of righteousness. The blessing is not found in the absence of trial; David declares, "Blessed are those whose sins are covered." The greatest happiness lies not in a filled schedule but in a forgiven soul. Noah condemned the world by faith, and your son overcomes the world's pull toward destructive pleasures not by willpower alone, but by that same faith, becoming an heir of righteousness.
Cease then to tremble only for his worldly condition. Cling instead to what makes him truly a son. For when he is God's own son in the faith, then he finds good friends, not by chasing after them, but because the household of God surrounds him. His life fills with purpose, not because boredom is banished by distraction, but because he is about his Father's business. His mind beholds not merely the unseen career path, but the unseen God, and in that vision, all lesser lights are rightly ordered. Pray then not only for his circumstances, but that he would hear that sweet word, "Son, be of good cheer." For then shall he be made whole, and the travailing soul shall give birth to a man who walks in the light of resurrection joy.
