Chrysostom
Beloved of All
The pain you feel is not unknown to Him who wore a crown of thorns. Yet consider the Apostle’s words: “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” For when a man prizes his outward form above the beauty of the soul, that very care becomes a thorn, choking the word of God and leaving him unfruitful. I do not call the body evil, but when its concerns draw us away from Christ, they are but dung in comparison to gaining Him. You tremble at the thinning of hair, yet the inward man decays not; set your confidence there, and no earthly loss can shake you.
Pray, then, to the Lord Jesus with faith, for He who stretched forth His hand and restored the withered arm is able also to command new growth upon your head. But even if He does not, will you love Him less? The man with the withered hand first needed the malady of his soul to be healed; trust that the Physician of souls knows the right time. Let not the lack of a spouse wound you, as though marriage were the foundation of honor. Use marriage with moderation, and you shall be first in the kingdom, whether you enter it alone or with a companion. Our riches are not stored in costly estates or flowing locks, but in that treasure in heaven which no baldness can diminish.
Lift up your eyes, therefore, and while you have opportunity, store up oil in abundance, placing your whole confidence in the love of God. Pour out your request before Him who disdained not to sit at a wedding feast, yet never let this concern become so loud that it drowns out the call to seek first His righteousness. He who did not spare His own Son will surely give you what is needful, whether new hair or greater grace to bear its absence, that your soul may shine with a beauty that never fades.
Pray, then, to the Lord Jesus with faith, for He who stretched forth His hand and restored the withered arm is able also to command new growth upon your head. But even if He does not, will you love Him less? The man with the withered hand first needed the malady of his soul to be healed; trust that the Physician of souls knows the right time. Let not the lack of a spouse wound you, as though marriage were the foundation of honor. Use marriage with moderation, and you shall be first in the kingdom, whether you enter it alone or with a companion. Our riches are not stored in costly estates or flowing locks, but in that treasure in heaven which no baldness can diminish.
Lift up your eyes, therefore, and while you have opportunity, store up oil in abundance, placing your whole confidence in the love of God. Pour out your request before Him who disdained not to sit at a wedding feast, yet never let this concern become so loud that it drowns out the call to seek first His righteousness. He who did not spare His own Son will surely give you what is needful, whether new hair or greater grace to bear its absence, that your soul may shine with a beauty that never fades.
