Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord |
It is easy for anyone of us “to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3). We think that we are servants of the Lord while the ministry in its spiritual depth has high standards. We may not have reached these yet. Alternatively, we may have started as spiritual servants but did not continue that characteristic through. So who is the spiritual servant? Spiritual servants are a beautiful tune in the ears of the Church They are pure icons, a source of blessing to whoever sees them. They are ladders reaching up to heaven always taking their children above with them. They are bridges transferring others from the worldly shore to the heavenly shore, from the present age to eternity. They are the voice of God to people, not human voices; they are mouths through which God speaks. The spiritual servant is a heavenly gift, sent from heaven to earth, and is one of the visits of grace, sent by God to the people, offering them the taste of heaven and of real life. The Spiritual servant is a living Bible or a moving Church They are the picture of God in front of their children, an ideal example or model to follow and a means of explaining all virtues. They always feel the presence of God. The ministry to them is just like a holy altar, their work or service smells like incense. The aim of the spiritual servant is to let God enter their service saying with David “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 126:1). The Spiritual servant always feels humble and unworthy They feel it is an honor to have the responsibility to prepare saints, “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). They know quite well that the salvation of human souls is higher than their abilities, it is the work of God. They are not worthy of sharing this holy work with the Lord and the Holy Spirit. At the same time, they do not leave the ministry. In fact, the feeling of humility and unworthiness pushes them to pray more always saying to the Lord: “O Lord, this ministry is your work and not mine, I know that you will work with or without me, I am just a by-stander “who stands and hears....and rejoices greatly” (John 3:29). It is true that “neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7). Do your work, Oh Lord, let the hearts of your children rejoice. Do not prevent the grace of Your Holy Spirit from dwelling inside them because of my weakness and sins.” Being insistent in their prayers, God will grant them His Grace, and when their ministry succeeds, they give glory to the Lord Who did all the work. The Spiritual servant is always a person of Prayer Through prayers, they serve their children and solve the problems of the service. Prayers to them is like breathing in and out, as the Fathers said: The Spiritual servant is a flame of fire; He has holy zeal for the salvation of souls, saying with David the Prophet, "Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the LORD..." (Psalm 132:3-5). This applies to the hearts of everyone. The Spiritual servant is the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15) People smell in them the sweet aroma of Christ because they are the message of God read by everyone. They are a burnt offering pleasing to the Lord. In them, the divine fire becomes its flame, that can never be extinguished. The Spiritual servant continuously moves towards the Lord Moving inside God’s heart, because the lord is inside their hearts. All their works are directed to the comfort of others in order to transfer every person to God’s heart. They are candles melting with love in order to give light to others, fulfilling the Lord’s words: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). The Spiritual servant is a soul, not only a mind They are not just teachers, but great souls united with the Lord and experiencing life with Him. They have tasted the sweetness of the Lord, and want to transfer this life to others. They do this by expressing their feelings, being good examples and praying for others. They don’t just give lessons, they are the lesson. These servants prepare themselves before preparing the lesson, remembering the words of the Lord "And for their sake I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” (John 17:19), and St. Paul’s words to his disciple Timothy the Bishop “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1 Tim 4:16). The children of the spiritual servant do not need visiting Their children always want to attend the lesson. When they see their servants at Church, they feel that they have found a great treasure. They learn lessons just from their look and manner with others. Through love, they tie their children to the Church and the Lord. As a result, the children eagerly wait for the lesson. Spiritual servants love their children and the salvation of their souls The love of these children is part of the servant's love to God. The servants love their children as Christ loved His disciples, it was said about Him, “having loved His own, who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). Spiritual servants love God from all their heart, and want all their children to be the same. The children of Spiritual servants are spiritual like them Their servants brings them up spiritually. Similarly, a social servant will bring up social children, the scientists concentrate on the scientific aspect of life, so their children will be just like books with much information and little spirituality. How beautiful are the words of Genesis, when talking about the creation of the plants on the earth “Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth "; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ” (Gen 1:11). If this is the case, then we must be very careful as to how we reveal God to them, because our children will be the same. ....... to be continued * Adapted from HH Pope Shenouda III's The Spiritual Ministry - Chapter 5
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