The Church is a wonderful place where you find refuge. There we as Christians can be together and honor our Lord and King as well as remember those we seek to be like, the Saints. Our Lord Jesus showed us on the Cross what faith is, to witness to faith. St. Stephen also taught us how we as mortals can follow Christ through faith and love of God. It is the Orthodox Church that keeps these historical narratives alive, helping us to become better Christians and followers of Christ
The Church can also be seen as representing Paradise, the place where God dwells and ordains. It is also a representation of the body of Christ, it is Jesus himself who as he told the Jews : "Destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it" (John 2:19 - 2:21). Of course we know that Jesus was talking about himself and his resurrection.
The church is the place where we pray to God, the house of God. The importance of the church is great and its role is fundamental to our faith. We reach out to God, we believe in Him, but how many of us listen to Him? How often do we silence and listen to God? There is a reason why God, Jesus is King and not Prime Minister or President. The latter 2 are put in power by me and by you, which is also debatable. The creator is placed in authority by God, not by man. We ought to obey the creator and this is not open to question as it is in the Parliament, the Greek Parliament or even the White House. To put it bluntly, God wants us to be quiet and humble when He speaks, as any mortal King would want the same. An essential difference of course between the King of the world and a mortal King/ruler is that God has given us free will, whereas Earthly Kings/rulers usually force the people to follow them by force. They take away our free will by so-called modern governments. Presidents and Prime Ministers use force to rule our lives. More and more we see that God is allowing us to be attacked to His face by these false Kings and Queens.
Christians are different, because while the lives of others are mostly controlled by Earth rulers with some kind of imposing power, we Christians have aligned ourselves with a true Heavenly Kingdom. We live under the protection of our loving Father and seek to follow His words above all else. We honor our God and bow our heads, but not for the Earthly rulers who deserve no such honor! Being a Christian is becoming more and more difficult these days, yet not as difficult as it was for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord and King. Christ is asking you to take up your own cross and follow Him!!! He is the King of the World who walked on Calvary and felt the unworthiness and pain that this world caused Him. Therefore, we as Christians ought to do the same. With all the dignity, love and strength we can muster, we must try. We know we will fail, but God is there for His children. We have only to be silent in the face of our selfishness to hear Him.
We can have our icons, our candles, candles and incense in our homes and make the sign of the cross when needed. Pray for forgiveness and in order for God to lead us on the right path, give us strength. Yet how many of us obey God's word?
If we pray to God with all our heart and soul, if we perceive in love the Lord's Passion for our salvation from eternal death, because He simply LOVES US!!!, then we will be manifestly on the right path to receive God's Truth and Wisdom. I can report to you, that God has saved my life on many occasions, some silently, and others openly! When I could not in my own strength save myself, God saved me and pulled me out of the "damage".
Talking to God is a great need and duty, and it can be difficult. Have you felt the greatness of talking to Almighty God? Do you think it is easy for a sinful soul to stand before the most high God and talk to him? When you stand before God you are as naked as when you were born! There is nothing hidden from God, but there is also a love like no other you can feel. This of course makes you feel humble and you certainly shed tears and cry like a baby child, because to God you are a child and you feel it! Christians need to understand the great sacrifice God made for us His children, not just understand it on the surface but feel it in our hearts. God has given us something very special, our hearts and souls, we must use them to speak and listen to God, we must learn to take time to secretly take time to pray to God, not only in church but also at home. That is why we turn our home into a church. Prayer to God does not stop when we leave the church and in fact we ought to pray constantly and obey God. When one prays with all one's heart and soul, God asks all those who dwell in heaven and the angels to be silent so that He can hear His child speak to Him! There are great honors for the person/child of God who prays reverently to the truths of our faith! Furthermore, those who have confessed their sins, God and the angels celebrate not condemn you because they LOVE YOU!
Matthew 6:5-6:
5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing up in the synagogues and on street corners, so that they may appear faithful to men. Verily I say unto you, Every man shall have his reward.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, and when you have closed the door, pray to the Father who is present; and the Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Love and blessings of God
Stefos
