“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”, (John 3:16). Why did God let Him as a sacrifice? Because the only way to win someone’s heart is through sacrifice. When someone dies for you, you cannot ever forget it.

May I ask: If God loves us so mush, how comes that our life is filled with so many trouble? Or, if we ask this question through the words of the Holy Scripture: why does God scold the one who loves and why does he punish the ones who receives him? In other words, if God loves us so much why is our life so filled with trouble?

Because God’s judgement is different than that of humans. For instance: a father that scolds his children thinks different than his children, but when they grow up they will understand the judgement of his father (why he punished them).

Thus, while tied to our body we are still restricted by the worldly understanding of life, we are not mature in our thinking. But when we will get rid of the mortal body, we will haste to thank God for all the tests he made us pass in life.

We need to try and see beyond this world (not being able to understand it), towards the other Kingdom, because otherwise we will not be able to understand this world or be able to endure it.

Therefore, if we take things as they are and understand them, then no matter how hard the problem will be, it acquires a priceless meaning and man starts to love all his troubles, and most of all to love all those who cause him trouble. In other words, Christians put their faith into the hands of God, he sees any problem as a proof of God’s love, as a step to achieving salvation.

So, if we share God’s holy sacrifice, we partake with the mystery of God’s supreme love, and among others, we achieve Jesus’ understanding of wold through which, as His followers we are convinced that no matter how restless is the sea of our life, we are safe because at the helm of our church is our Father. 

(Translated from Părintele Arsenie Boca, Lupta duhovniceasca cu lumea, trupul şi diavolul, ediție revizuită, Editura Agaton, Făgăraș, 2009, pp. 114-116)