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"CHOOSE LIFE, SO YOU AND YOUR OFFspring LIVE" - that was the name of the conference that took place today in the Moscow Regional Duma.

Vladyka Yuvenaly, on behalf of the Patriarch, awarded Lidia Nikolaevna Antonova with the Order of Saint Vladimir.
All participants, I will not list them, spoke beautifully and fluently: the indicators improved; preventive work is carried out; crisis pregnancy centers are being opened and the specialists working in them are improving; the number of abortions and abandoned children has decreased, children are taught about family values ​​in schools, and Bishop Konstantin of Zaraisk, vicar of the Moscow diocese, fervently assured everyone present that seminarians are also being trained to work with crisis pregnant women.

On the one hand, I have no reason not to believe anyone. On the other hand, when the mother of seven children took the stage and, on behalf of all those with many children, thanked our caring state, my jaw dropped.
It turns out that the state helps families with many children a lot and in every possible way supports families in which many children are growing up. Guys, I don’t know, perhaps the number of crisis centers is growing like mushrooms after rain, perhaps there are fewer abortions - I can’t track this, but I can say that our state helps large families?? How much did she get paid, I wonder? Or just got off with a bouquet and gifts?
Everyone present in the hall shed tears, and some even blushed with pleasure. I hope that in some diocese after this conference the attitude towards clerics with many children will improve.

Why so obviously and openly deceive?
Of course, I understand that half of the hall consisted of extras, who sat buried in their smartphones, and reacted poorly to those who were pushing a speech. But even they bought into the mother-heroine, it was the performance of the mother of many children that "lit up" the hall - here it is, the fruit, supposedly, of the work of all high-ranking officials: a happy mother of many children who gave birth, gives birth and will give birth.
Here it is, the ideal.

Ugh. Do you know who a mother of many children needs to be in order for the state to help her? I will tell because I know. You have to be not only a mother, but also a punchy official, or the founder of some society of large families, in short, be "closer to the body" - then you will be noticed and most likely you will be able to snatch something for the family: a cottage in addition to foster children, chic minibus, apartment and so on.
In Luzhkov's time, indeed, some of those with many children managed to get an apartment, some a minibus, and some both. Now they don't give anything. My ten-child friend wrote to Sobyanin, asking for a Gazelle minibus. She was politely told that there were no funds. And it won't. Another friend of mine lives with a bunch of children in a tiny apartment, but despite the fact that she has been on the waiting list for a long time, it is unlikely that her children will be able to live in human conditions.
http://tv.m24.ru/videos/94880
Here they are - real large families, and not painted blonde social women. After the seven-children, the six-children performed. They were very similar. Externally. Both blondes with heavy eyeliner. The second one said the common truths already said a hundred times, but everyone applauded wildly.

By the way, the disrespectful attitude of some conference participants to foster parents was jarring. What they did not please them, I wonder? Do receptionists care less? Maybe there is evidence that they feed worse than the adoptive parents? Are they less involved in the treatment of children? Do they spend less money on their education? AND?
No, everything is the same: foster parents, no worse than adoptive parents, wash their children, cut their nails every five days, get up to them at night, buy and wash clothes for them, treat them and even love them no less than relatives. The only difference is that foster families receive money from the state for the maintenance of foster children. Accordingly, officials and even some ordinary people the attitude towards foster parents is negative: no one is haunted by the fact that someone receives money, even for well-deserved work. Now, if adopted, then yes! Then heroes! And if they receive money, why should they be respected?

The conference ended very optimistically: the participants decided, decided, plan to support, find solutions to problems and issues, organize, provide, improve, work out, etc.
But none of the participants offered any real support to women who go for abortions because they cannot support a child and, most importantly, devote time to it - and such women make up the majority of visitors to abortion clinics and mothers who leave babies in maternity hospitals.
What can we offer moms? Conversations with psychologists about the fact that it is wrong to have an abortion and abandon babies is a sin. What do you think mothers will do? They will send psychologists, and at the same time officials who have deprived them of their last opportunity to become mothers, namely, by depriving them of a nursery. Yes, yes, you heard right - the nursery has now been abolished. Yasel does not exist. A mother must sit with a child up to three years. And what she will feed the baby with is her personal, so to speak, sexual tragedy.
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In short, no matter how much was said beautiful words, smart phrases, and even quotes from Scripture, we will not have any increase in the birth rate and there will be no less abortions. Do you know why? Because there is no real help from the state to either crisis or large families. You don't have to look far for an example, let's take my family.
I am a Muscovite, I was on the waiting list for having many children, but we were never given an apartment. On the contrary, the good state deprived us of the last thing left of the "family estate" - a huge room in a communal apartment in the Center, where my great-grandmother lived. The room was taken away and nothing was given in return. When the fourth child, Ephraim, was two years old, we bought an apartment on credit, under the Young Family program - my husband had not yet been ordained and he worked hard, and my mother helped. We have been waiting for a very long time for our family to be given the promised plot, but Moscow families with many children are not given plots. Medvedev promised, and forgot - with whom he does not happen. The human factor, you know. Therefore, the dacha, necessary for every urban family in which children grow up, was bought with the inheritance left to me by my father.
What else should I thank the state for?
For free travel for children and one parent on public transport (why not make travel for both parents?).
For a free camp (to which I will not give my children, because they will come from there with lice and without clothes, beaten and hungry).
For free lunches at school and Kindergarten(thanks for that).
For a Mother's Day gift of sugar, sickening waffle cake, and dirty buckwheat (eat yourself).
For a single trip to the poorest mosquito sanatorium in the Tver region, in which I spent the dullest days of my life (for free and sweet vinegar).
For tight jeans that do not fit on children, synthetic T-shirts and oilcloth sandals, which they graciously handed me "for having many children", asking me to sign for the fact that I received a "gift" for 15,000 rubles.
Maybe I forgot something else, I don't know. But I am not one of those who appeals with their large number of children and runs around the offices with his tongue hanging out in the hope of getting a free TV or a ticket to the Crimea.
Thank you! Thank you, dear state! I suggest that benevolent officials treat their wives with a waffle cake from a mother's day gift, and send their children to a free sanatorium instead of Cambridge.

At the same time, I cannot say that no one helped us - in difficult times they helped us. I will not name names so as not to deprive people of their reward in Heaven, I will only say that this is not a state and not a Church.

"CHOOSE LIFE, SO YOU AND YOUR OFFERING LIVE" - this is applicable, perhaps, to officials, and not to ordinary citizens. Indeed, why shouldn't they be fruitful, especially since life is a full cup?

And an ordinary woman will go and have an abortion or put the child in a baby box. She will put it on the sly, but not because she is a bastard, but because she has nothing to support him, and there is no opportunity to go to work, because free nurseries no longer exist, and she understands that the baby will die of hunger or will be taken away by guardianship .
A failed mother is not a fool and understands that if she files an official refusal, our state will rip off child support from her until she is 18 years old. THINK ABOUT THIS, NOT ABOUT KEEPING AN ARMY OF PSYCHOLOGISTS IN CRISIS CENTERS. You won't get tired of talking.

In this sermon, we will turn to the concluding part of the great sermon of Moses, which he proclaimed at the end of his life, and which forms the main part of the Book of Deuteronomy. Let's read the last two verses of this epic sermon: a call to choice and steps on how to make the right choice.

We read Deut. 30:19-20 I call heaven and earth today as witnesses before you: I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose life, so that you and your offspring may live, love the Lord your God, listen to His voice and cleave to Him; For in this is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell on the land which the Lord promised with an oath to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them.”

Let us turn our attention only to Deut. 30:19, which includes an appeal presented on both sides. First of all, this is the so-called “tolerant” call for change, without any pressure on the listeners: “I have offered you life and death, blessing and curse.” It implies the consciousness of those who heard this unobtrusive call from above. The second call is of a completely different nature, in which the verb in the imperative mood is used: “choose”. It is like a military order, which is not subject to any appeal. Therefore, our expository sermon will be directly related to the mentioned double call, which was used by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Moses. We will consider it in the context of knowledge of geography and bible history Israel, constantly throughout the sermon, answering two simple questions: "When?" and where?"

The whole parting sermon of Moses, including Deut. 30:19-20 was proclaimed in the plain of Moab. We read the confirmation of this in Deut. 1:1-5: “These are the words that Moses spoke to all the Israelites beyond the Jordan in the wilderness in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Asheroth, and Dizagab, a distance of eleven days’ journey from Horeb, on the road from Mount Seir to Kadesh-Barnea. In the fortieth year, the eleventh month, on the first [day] of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel all that the Lord had commanded him about them. After he had killed Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashteroth in Edrei, beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law and said ... "

How is the land of Moab different from other lands, and why did Moses deliver his significant, epic sermon here? This place was planned by God as the place of choice. Let's look at examples of choice related to the land of Moab. Firstly, this is the choice of Moses himself: whether he should continue to live or die with dignity, leave the stage in time, as an accomplished hero of faith. And this choice of Moses was very similar to the test of King Hezekiah when he fell mortally ill. Let's read Is. 38:1-6: “In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, came to him and said to him: Thus says the Lord: make a will for your house, for you will die, you will not recover. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying: "Oh, Lord! remember that I walked before Your face faithfully and with a heart devoted to [You] and did what was right in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept profusely. And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, and it was said, Go and tell Hezekiah: Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I heard your prayer, I saw your tears, and, behold, I will add fifteen years to your days, and from the hand of the king of Assyria I will save you and this city, and I will defend this city.” How did Hezekiah's requested extension of life for another fifteen years end? According to the Bible, after a miraculous healing, twelve years later, a son was born to Hezekiah - Manasseh, who became a terrible god-adversary, an idolater, and who then caused a lot of evil to God's people! Therefore, was Hezekiah worth begging God for healing, or perhaps it would have been better for him to leave the stage in the glory of God's reformer, and not in the shame of a father who could not properly raise his son ?!

I believe that Moses had a choice to live or die. He was strong enough for his one hundred and twenty years. His gaze hasn't dropped yet. And the very presentation of the inspired, hours-long sermon, in which he used many approaches, and which is a visual aid for modern preachers, eloquently indicates the sharpness and depth of his thought; that his brains were in perfect order and had not undergone much destruction over time. Therefore, there was no reason for Moses to be terminally ill. However, he had to either submit to God's decision that he would not bring Israel into the Promised Land, or consciously resist the will of God by making efforts to further successfully command the capture of Canaan. And Moses, as a spiritually mature man, decided not to argue with God and in time to step aside from the life of the people, to let Joshua take independent steps as a new leader. Moses ascended Mount Nebo within the borders of the fields of Moab, and there he departed in peace into eternity. The great Ukrainian educator Grigory Skovoroda did the same. He, at the time appointed by God, wrote tombstone words for himself: “The world caught me, caught me, but did not catch me ...” Then he dug a hole. He lay down in it and departed into Eternity!

The site of the Moabite Plain is the historical site of choice. Here once Ruth the Moabite renounced her national idolatry and chose new life service to the Living God. And, as a result of her small feat, not heeding all the persuasions of her mother-in-law Naomi and not paying attention to her inner, natural fears, being socially completely unprotected, as a foreigner, a woman and a widow, she found, by the grace of God, her proper place in Israel . She not only successfully married a pious man, but became the great-grandmother of King David, and then entered, by right of kinship, into the Human Lineage of Jesus Christ!
Here, in the fields of Moab, John the Baptist preached and baptized. And here our Lord accepted His choice, fulfilling all righteousness - He received the baptism from John.

So, the plain of Moab is a historical and biblical place of choice for many people, where the fate of all mankind was invisibly decided!

Perhaps we don't consider our House of Prayer a place of historic choice; the place where the fate of the world is decided. But we come at least once a week to this Holy place not just to be together in the Presence of the Heavenly Father, to listen to what the Lord will tell us in the Holy Spirit. I hope that we want more... And this more is usually associated with the call that sounds in the main church sermon. Therefore, we can liken in the Holy Spirit this sermon to the sermon of Moses. To do this, we need to imagine ourselves in the place of the listeners of Moses. What did they hear? Or rather, what did they see and hear when the great preacher completed his inspired sermon?

In the first part of the call, Moses subtly invited each Israelite to make their own personal choice; that he will choose life or death, blessing or curse? And when Moses then made a meaningful pause, he saw from the expression on the faces of his listeners that they were ready to choose blessings and life instead of damnation and death. Therefore, the following words were like a commanding order, such as: “If you are ready to follow the path of life, then completely submit to the action of life in you and around you! Forget about past wandering! Think in a new way! Don't think about death! Think and always choose only life in God!”

What is the difference between real life and non-life! This question can be answered in different ways, but all our answers will come down to the following: life does not stand still; it is conceived, developed and always reproduced in others. Life is always fruitful! And unlife is a mechanical assembly into which God has not breathed His breath of life! Therefore, the Lord God did not want Israel to fall into the net of unlife, the mechanical performance of religious rites, which leads to a loss of joy in the Spirit. Therefore, Moses had to proclaim publicly by order of command: “Choose life!”

I imagine how Moses the preacher stands on a hill, half a turn to the Jordan River and the people. First he points to his right hand towards Canaan, which is on the other side of the river. And then, with a new movement of his hand, he pointed not to the movement of the river down towards the Dead Sea, where once God had judged the unclean cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. No, Moses pointed with his hand towards the upper reaches of the river. He pointed to the source of the Jordan, located in the mountainous area of ​​the foothills of Hermon. Therefore, the main way of life for Moses, Christ, and us should be imprinted with the image of the river, which receives an abundance of fresh water from a spring gushing from the earth. Let's read about such a source of life, indicated by Jesus Christ and recorded in Jn. 7:38-39: “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his belly. This He said about the Spirit...

Is such a mighty fountain of life gushing out of us today, or is the water of the Word of God just dripping a little? Or maybe we have hidden our spiritual source so deeply from prying eyes that we have already forgotten about its existence in us? Then it is best for us to do as Mary Magdalene did when she brought into the house of her brother Simon, nicknamed "Lazarus", an alabaster vessel with costly myrrh. She brought it to break this vessel in the presence of Jesus Christ and pour its contents on the head of the Lord. And when she did, then the smell of myrrh perfume filled the whole room. She poured out the contents of the broken vessel on the head of Jesus Christ, but part of this myrrh fell on His feet. Then Mary instinctively began to wipe the myrrh from the feet of the Lord with her hair, and particles of this fragrant substance fell on her hair. Therefore, Mary began to smell fragrant herself! Isn't this a small miracle, which completely depended only on Mary's decision whether to break the vessel with precious perfumes or keep the myrrh for herself; whether to wipe the dirty, dusty feet of Jesus Christ with your beautiful hair, or be content only with the fact that myrrh was still poured out on Christ!

It depends on you and me what will be today, tomorrow and ... in Eternity our life! Today we have been given a choice, and God's order sounds to us: "Choose life!" Therefore, we need to seriously penetrate the thought and ask an honest question in the presence of the invisible Lord, whether a fragrant, powerful source of life and spirit is gushing out of me, or is my Christianity like a quiet "swamp" of rotting religiosity?

The Jordan River, which originates from some sources, is mainly fed by castra waters, which powerfully beat from the ground in the form of strong jets in a mountainous area, which is popularly called the "Gate of Hell". Thank God that in the area of ​​ancient Caesarea Philippi, not far from Hermon, today we can see the incandescent lava from the underworld that does not erupt, which destroys everything living and non-living on its way. No, every hour new tons of water appear from the “gates”, which feed the Jordan, the Sea of ​​Galilee and reach the Dead Sea. And this natural phenomenon reminds me of our personal, conscious choice, to exude the hellish flames of anger or to be a verbal source of words of grace and humility for other people.

We should not be deceived that with anger one can get into the Kingdom of Heaven! This is a satanic lie! It is written in Gal 5:16 clearly, in black and white: "I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." And later in the same chapter, in verses 19-21, a warning is written for carnal Christians who are moving along the careless course of life: “The deeds of the flesh are known; they are: ... enmity, quarrels, envy, anger, strife, disagreements, ... and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do so will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Therefore, God still gives us the opportunity to choose life in the Spirit, and not death according to the flesh!

Perhaps the time has already come when we must come to the full realization that sweet or bitter water cannot flow from the same source. However, in practice, not only such sinful metamorphoses with “water” emanating from our mouths take place. Modern Christians are very similar to transformers who know how to change their form in time - depending on the situation, playing different roles and hiding their true face under the false mask of their "humanity"! However, no matter how we assemble ourselves from the parts of a carnal modeller-constructor, life from the Holy Spirit cannot appear in us from such false transformations! Therefore, we need to free our inner life potential from under the spiritual guardianship, as they do, for example, when the sewer is clogged, and water no longer flows from the sink into the pipe. Again, this is our choice: to be satisfied with the "life" of a lifeless corked bottle and a dirty tube of flesh clogged with waste, or to give ourselves and our heart under the cleansing stream of our Lord Jesus Christ! Written in 1 Jn. 1:7: "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." And again: “If we confess our sins, then He, being faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness!”

Our Lord is ready to purify the inner source of our heart from various worldly and carnal impurities with which we are polluted every day! But for this we need to wish and prayerfully, sincerely take the step of confession under the stream of the Blood of Jesus Christ. It is written: "Call to me, and I will answer you!" Something similar had to be done after a significant sermon to the people of Israel, when the crossing over the flooded, full-flowing spring Jordan began. By that time, the new leader of the people, Joshua, the successor of Moses, who had died in God, could postpone the transition from the fields of Moab to the Canaan land - until the strong flood subsided, and the river again became safe for crossing. However, the leader of the people did not wait another few months for the Jordan to dry up. He also did not go around, looking for a more convenient crossing. No! He made a voluntary conscious choice towards the life of Canaan, God's Promised Land. He gave a command, and the priests were the first to go with the ark to the full-flowing Jordan. And then, in response to the act of faith, and the right choice of Joshua, the Lord God performed a great miracle. We read the eyewitness account, confirmed by the Holy Spirit, in Jos. Nav. 3:14-17: “So when the people moved from their tents to cross the Jordan, and the priests carried the ark of the covenant before the people, then as soon as the bearers of the ark entered the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who carried the ark sank into the water of the Jordan - But Jordan protrudes from all its banks all the days of the harvest of wheat, - the water flowing from above stopped and became a wall for a very long distance, to the city of Adam, which is near Tsartan; but the plain that flows into the sea, into the Salt Sea, is gone and dried up. And the people went over against Jericho; the priests, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood on dry land in the middle of the Jordan with a firm foot. All [the sons] of Israel crossed over on dry land until all the people had crossed over the Jordan.” Truly, it was a transition of faith in life and trust in God!

The categorical call-order of Moses, addressed once to the people of Israel, can become for us today a useful awakening from the already traditional hibernation religious certainty in your salvation. After all, it is very dangerous to constantly live in a world of carnal automatism and inaction! We need to make decisions big and small all the time! And every time we should remember the momentous words of Moses, which he spoke, standing next to the Jordan in the plain of Moab: “Choose life!”, Followed by four practical steps of reminder: “that you and your offspring may live, His voice and cleaved to Him; for this is your life…” Amen.

Igor Grinenko

The question of life and death is the most exciting question for mankind. Over the centuries, it has been the subject of research more than once. The result is always the same - one must accept life and death as an axiom, there is no need to prove their existence.

For those who are not adherents of the creationist view, according to which life is given by God, the question of the origin of life remains open: “Some facts give us an idea of ​​​​the conditions under which life may have originated, but the mechanisms through which the non-living became alive are all still elusive."

But now we are not interested in the origin of life, but in its course, the processes taking place in it, and its continuation. We will talk about the life of people, and not about the biological form in general.

Everyone agrees that life is a gift. But not everyone says whose gift it is. People value and love her without giving credit to her Main Source. Many try to take everything from life here and now, not realizing that it has a continuation and does not end, since its Source is eternal.

What is life?

Let's try to give short definition. A life - given by God, a constantly evolving process with two main opposite components: birth and death, in which the laws of life and death operate. It extends to the biological, mental and spiritual world.

In Gen. 25:8 we read: "The days of Abraham's life, which he lived, were one hundred and seventy-five years. And Abraham died, and died in a good old age, old and full of life, and was added to his people." Abraham lived 175 years. And Methuselah was 969 when he died (Gen. 5:27). Until now, my attention here has always been directed to the number of years. It is not said about Methuselah how he lived his life: whether he was satisfied with it. We only know how many years he lived. And about Abraham we learn that he was "saturated with life." Only one word "saturated" gives a complete description real life. And you can see the difference. Methuselah is full of days, and Abraham is full of life. Why? Abraham lived with God, his life was full of faith and works done according to God's word. Therefore, he became the father of all believers, a model of a full life, rich in God's favor, a life accompanied by supernatural intervention in response to his obedience.

There is also life, which is reduced to biological existence. It is subject to the slogan: "Eat, drink, be merry - only this will remain for you." Such people do not live, but exist, being led by their passions, completely dependent on them. They are in bondage to alcohol, drugs, fornication. Here is how Solomon describes them: “Do not be among those who drink wine, between those who are sated with meat, because the drunkard and the satiated will become impoverished, and sleepiness will put on rags. Truth and do not sell wisdom, and doctrine, and understanding. The father of the righteous triumphs, and he who has begotten a wise man rejoices in him. Let your father rejoice, and let your mother rejoice, who bore you. My son! Give me your heart, and let your eyes watch the way mine, because a harlot is a deep abyss, and a stranger's wife is a narrow well; she, like a robber, sits in ambush and multiplies lawbreakers among people. Who has purple eyes? Those who sit long over wine, who come to look for [wine] seasoned. Look not at the wine, how it reddens, how it sparkles in the cup, how it bite and sting like an asp; eyes yours will look at other people's wives, and your heart will speak perverse things, and you will be like one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and like one sleeping on a masthead. And you will say: "They beat me, it did not hurt me; they pushed me, I did not feel. When I wake up, I will again seek the same thing" (Pr. 23:20-35).

There is a life of well-being and well-being that God offers to the people of Israel: “Today I call heaven and earth as witnesses before you: I have set before you life and death, a blessing and a curse. Choose life, that you and your offspring may live” (Deut. 30:19 ). This life means dying for paganism, causing a curse - constant fear for life in the fight against diseases, elements and disasters, wars and unrest, instability and danger, constant anxiety. Life is in obedience God's commandments creates a blessing. God speaks of prosperity and well-being given supernaturally as a gift for obedience to His word: "Hold fast to the instruction, do not leave it, keep it, for it is your life" (Pr. 4:13). In the Old Testament times, life was valued as a gift from God with all its characteristics of well-being and well-being both for the person himself and for his offspring: wealth and glory, honor and peace, peace on earth. This is all that every person, every nation can wish for. The Israelites, who knew the conditions for having such a life, had periods when they gained it and when they lost it. The reason lies in the fact that they did not appreciate it. It seemed to them that it did not satisfy them completely, so they looked for something else and found it not in God, but again in paganism, which again brought them to damnation. There comes a moment when a person gets tired of a life of prosperity and well-being, stability and security, and repeats after Solomon: "And I hated life, because the deeds that are done under the sun became disgusting to me, for everything is vanity and vexation of the spirit!" (Ecl. 2:17). This king, who lived the life that many today dream of, said: "I hated...". Why was he so disappointed? We find the answer in his conclusions: “It is not in the power of man that it is good to eat and drink and delight his soul from his labor. I saw that this too is from the hand of God. Because who can eat and who can enjoy without Him?" (Ecl. 2:24-25). Even if you have everything, without God this "everything" is vanity. The proof of this is the history of many peoples and empires with their ideologists, philosophers, politicians who dream of a life when everyone is happy, but never reach their goal. Earth life has only horizontal dimensions. It cannot saturate the human soul, striving for the lost state, for which it constantly intuitively yearns – the state not of temporary earthly happiness, but of eternal bliss through communion with its Creator.

God gave the answer to this human search 2,000 years ago in the person of Jesus Christ. He came to earth and said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6).

Probably then, as today, many asked: "What does He mean by this? Indeed, in practice, He has neither a stake, nor a court, nor even a" place to lay his head. "He does not have large social projects, a geopolitical strategy." But let's listen to His words: "Enter at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go through it; for narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few are the ones who find it" (Matt. 7: 13, 14). There is eternal life, which gives hope for an eternal blessed stay in heaven with God: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5:24). It speaks of the future, which becomes a fact for all who accept Jesus: "As in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive, each in his own order: Christ the Firstborn, then Christ's at His coming" (I Cor. 15:22- 23).

For those who believe in Christ, another life begins in accordance with the teachings and order of the Church, more often perceiving it as simply social life, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles: "And they continued constantly in the teaching of the apostles, in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. And there was fear in every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles in Jerusalem. All the believers were together and had everything in common" (2:42-44). Unfortunately, in recent times people often come to the Church who seek to solve their social problems rather than find eternal life. Some want healing, others want release from some kind of addiction, others want reconciliation with their families. Some want to gain confidence through the right people, find the realization of themselves as individuals. But this turns out to be another utopia if they do not see the main thing for which Christ created the Church - so that the gates of hell could not defeat her. This gate is death, charged with its most powerful weapon - sin. "Death! Where is your sting? Hell! Where is your victory?" (I Cor. 15:55).

If Christians accept faith only in order to have well-being, not tasting victory over sin and death, which seek to destroy the spiritual life in us, then we must agree with St. Paul: "And if in this life alone we hope in Christ, then we are more unhappy than all people" (I Cor. 15:19). This is how heresies arise in the church, because church life cannot solve the problems of the old nature, which gives rise to sin and transgression (see Gal. 5:19-21). Aristotle defines life as the spontaneous generation of living matter from inanimate matter - fleas and mice spontaneously arise in dirty linen and food waste, worms and flies in spoiled meat, etc. And heresies, as church practice shows, arise where the decrepit nature is given the opportunity to control religious life. And if the definition of Aristotle is in doubt today, then there is no doubt that for a life according to the flesh there is no better environment than the church, unless the life of Christ is leading for the Church, for only it is capable of killing the carnal.

Then again the question arises: "Is it possible for a person on this earth to experience true bliss from a truly pure life?" The answer is "Yes". But no one can give birth to this bliss in himself, just as scientists in the best modern laboratories cannot create even one of the simplest forms of life. Again we come to the same conclusion - life is God's gift. This divine life, about which everyone dreams, a person receives through faith. But how to get it? The answer is recorded in 1 Jn. 5:12: "He who has the Son (of God) has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." Still here on earth, there is the life of Jesus Christ in us. Of her He says, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

With the loss of loved ones or respected people, they often say: "He remained in my heart." For some peoples, their leaders remained in their lives. Such acceptance is rather a memory full of love, imitation and the desire to reach the level of these people, to live according to their model. It is fundamentally different from accepting Christ as a Person who has life in Himself, with its laws of development and realization. Such a life is possible only through death and resurrection. The dying of the old nature and the resurrection of the new, in the image of the One who lives in us.

Christ speaks of life in abundance. I have heard different interpretations this expression, including the fact that it refers to life in eternity. People do not want to accept that this life exists here and now. Life that came 2000 years ago, which is a reflection of heavenly life with its perfection and goodness. A life that makes a person truly happy and has a continuation in eternity.

The Jews expected revolution, rebellion, freedom from Roman domination, and Jesus tells them about life: "I came to give you life. But you did not accept it." John writes, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).

The Evangelist speaks of a life that illumines the mind, as it brings light, illuminating the darkness of our understandings and philosophies: “We also know that the Son of God came and gave us understanding, that we might know the true God; and we are in the True, His Son, Jesus Christ, this is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). Saturated with life with God, John says, "and this life is in his Son." During the birth of Gnosticism, he does his best to explain to people that life is not in knowledge, but in a Person, and this Person is Christ.

We often talk about repentance, about being born again. But do we understand that we are shifting the center and directing people to action, and not to the Personality?

What, in essence, should they seek: repentance or life? Life is not in repentance, but in the Son, whom you either accept or reject. Repentance is only a means of approaching the Personality, and if Christ shows mercy and grants forgiveness through the sinner's prayer, He dwells in his heart. The Person of Christ is life-giving and full in all areas. Not only in historical terms, but also now, in the 21st century.

Acceptance of Christ is acceptance of His life in us. The birth of Christ in us is our birth from above. As in the case of the birth of a child in a family, this brings great joy. But later life, deeds and fruits often show that Christ was neglected in our hearts. Not because He is powerless in us, but because we do not care that He be revealed in all His fullness.

Although humanity penetrates into all spheres of being, although it knows atomic energy and the laws of genetic engineering, few people seek to understand the birth from above, which has a special spiritual energy with its own laws of life, received from God during our earthly existence. Hence the torment and failure of our Christian life. Because if there is acceptance, there must be birth; if there is a birth, relationships must also be formed - not as a joint existence, but as a blissful life that brings fullness and satisfaction. Fullness, however, is missing, as the conflict between the old and the new nature begins, for the One who lives in us has will, feelings, expectations and everything else that a person has. Here is the experience. Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

Let us recall the definition of life that we gave at the beginning: life is a process of two opposite phenomena - dying and birth. The birth of Christ's life in us and its expansion have no limit on this earth, since life does not end here. If we accept that life is a struggle between the old and the new, then death can no longer touch the new; the life that becomes inviolable and no one can steal it. Therefore, from this moment we pass into eternal life, since death is defeated, it no longer has power over the heavenly life that is in us. The process of our sanctification, which is the mortification of our old nature and the acquisition of new life according to the new man in us, testifies that we become heirs of this life forever, both on earth and in eternity. And nothing will destroy it, except sin, when we allow it.

Let's try to give brief description this life for people who belong to Christ.

1. Ap. Paul says: "I walked according to revelation," that is, not according to logic and human sophistication.

2. This is a life of fullness in peace, joy and rest.

3. A life of real happiness when a person is in love.

4. This life has its own patterns of birth and development.

5. She is full of wisdom and knowledge, which have nothing to do with human cunning and sophistication.

6. A life of deep humility before the One you love, willingly submitting your will to His will.

7. Life of bliss: cry when others laugh; rejoice when others are in panic and anxiety; rejoice when everyone is discouraged; triumph when everyone capitulates; to be bold and brave when everyone is trembling; humble when fools rise up; be silent when there is something to say; speak when everyone is silent; give the last thing you have with confidence that you do not lose, but gain; to have a light before you when others wander in darkness. This is the life of Christ who lives in us. This life cannot be built from human sinful nature. It is born and built only in the process of dying and resurrection, in the process of opposition. When we choose Life, death with its laws - sin and crime - leading to punishment, suffering and eternal death, recedes. That's why app. Paul writes: “For God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to enlighten [us] with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. not to us. We are oppressed from everywhere, but not constrained; we are in desperate circumstances, but we do not despair; we are persecuted, but not forsaken; we are cast down, but we do not perish. We always carry in the body the deadness of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are continually given over to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh, so that death works in us and life in you." (II Cor. 4:6-12).

Here is how the apostle summarized his life: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; and now there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. "(II Tim. 4:7-8). Paul lived and died not full of days (he lived much less than the patriarchs), but full of life from Christ and for Christ. Regardless of his enormous missionary work, of the considerable number of Epistles written by him, of the miracles and signs that God performed through him, the life of Christ remained the most valuable for the apostle. The life that was infused, dissolved and revealed in his nature from the moment when he accepted Christ into his heart, until the death by which Paul glorified God. It was the possession of this life while still here on earth that gave the apostle a witness of life in heaven and the courage to say: “I am attracted by both: I have a desire to be resolved and be with Christ, because this is incomparably better” (Phil. 1:23).

What do we choose today? At the end of my earthly life, I would like to say, together with ap. Paul: "The time of my departure has come... I have fought a good fight, I have completed my course, I have kept the faith; I am saturated with the life of Christ, and now I look forward to meeting Him in heaven."

Ivan Vylkov

Many people have no idea why they were born? We did not come into the world of our own free will. Whose then? Did you choose your family, father and mother, or the place where you exist, the time in which you live?

Deut 30:19,20 Today I call heaven and earth as witnesses before you: I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life, so that you and your offspring may live, love the Lord your God, listen to His voice and cleave to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may abide in the land which the Lord [God] promised with an oath to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them

It is interesting. Those who were already alive were asked to choose life. Isn't it absurd? No one can choose what he already has. Why does it say "choose life" here?

The fact that you are alive does not mean that you have chosen life. To choose something is to choose something different from you, which is different from you. The Bible says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Choose this life, which is not only a biological moment of existence on earth. You cannot choose biological life, you already have it. Dead you cannot choose it, because you are dead. Alive you cannot choose it because you are alive.

What happened to the first person? He ate from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which God said: "on the day you eat of it, you will die the death"(Gen 2:17)- this is said about spiritual death, and the person really died. After Adam died and received a curse instead of a blessing, he ceased to know God. Adam's people began to be born without the knowledge of God - spiritually dead. In Deuteronomy, God invites his people, invites us all: “Choose the life that Adam did not choose. I gave him everything, I gave humanity everything, My plan was for you to live.”

Many people, not having an answer to the question why they were born, commit suicide, their life is aimless. Moreover, Christians, without having a clear understanding of the choice that God offers us, live an inefficient life, they live on the verge of death. Many of those who attend church are not Christians at all. It says here, "choose life to... love the Lord." Many try to love the Lord and fail because they have not made that choice. They cannot hear the "voice of the Lord" because they have not made a choice. “And cleave to Him”, become one body, one nature with God, become a god. Many do not become a god, unfortunately, they remain sinners. They don't come into that holiness. Because it cannot be done without one very clear and distinct factor: one must choose life.

No one can choose this life for you, neither father nor mother - no one. God has given free will to every person. And He brought a person into this world, without his will, so that a person could finally manifest his will and choose life or death. But the Lord says: choose life, choose blessing. Tim