For the beginning Christian
Published 05/03/2018
How to find God and the path to God? Is it even possible to understand where to look for God? The Bible says that no one has ever seen God, yet millions of people around the world want to find God in their lives.
In this short article we will try to find answers to these two questions, especially since the Bible gives us very good clues about where and how to look for God.
Through persuasion to come to faith
The simplest answer to this question that comes to mind is to go outside in the spring, when the gardens are blooming. Inhale the aroma of flowers, consider their beauty, listen to the buzzing of bees. Or see Pushkin’s winter - “frost and sun, a wonderful day.” As the psalmist King David tells us: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament speaks of the work of His hands” (Ps. 18:2). The easiest way to be convinced of the existence of the Creator is to observe the reality around us.
Belief is an element of the cognitive process. A person is unfamiliar with something, but gradually becomes convinced of its existence. This usually turns out either from personal experience or in dialogue with someone who already has knowledge on this issue. For example, a small child does not know what a horse is. They tell him what it is like, show it in books, and only after a while he can see the horse in person. Then he will know and believe that the horse exists, and will be convinced that it is not an invention of the person who told him about it, or the artist who painted it. Faith becomes the highest degree of conviction. Faith is an absolute belief. In the matter of knowing God, we must come to faith through conviction.
HOLD ON - GOD IS FOR YOU!
Was it the case that you knew exactly where God told you to be and what to do, and that's what you stuck to, no matter how difficult it was?
And as a result, God did something impossible for you, didn’t he? But was it the other way around: you left the place where God told you to be and abandoned fulfilling His instructions? If you've ever done this, you know from experience what a disaster it can be to step away from where God told you to be and away from what He told you to do. The price for leaving the territory of faith is too high.
Hold on, stay put: don’t give up on what God has called you to do or what God has assigned you to do. It may be difficult for you for a while, but if you stay within the bounds of faith and don't step outside its territory, then, as the Bible promises, in the end you will see God work miraculously on your behalf!
The path of the curious
The Apostle Paul says that faith is a gift of God: “It is through faith that you have been saved, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). What then about conviction? To achieve it, we need to go through a certain path. To do this, first of all, you need to be inquisitive.
I think science can help us verify the existence of God. I mean the natural sciences that we study from school, which we encounter every day. I am very close to the words of Nobel laureate in physics Max Planck, who said that faith in God for a believer is the beginning of the path: he accepts it as truth and builds his worldview on this foundation. And for a person who follows the path of science, this is the end of the path, its peak. The scientist comes to the conviction of the existence of God as the cause of everything that happens.
Fourth stage
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Daily prayer. You need to start by reading “Our Father” strictly in the morning and evening, in front of the icon of the Lord. You need to say the prayer thoughtfully, understanding the meaning of each word. Then add to it the “Creed,” which is the main content of the teaching of our Church. After this, you can move on to the morning and evening rules in abbreviated form for children. And only after learning not to be distracted during prayer, perhaps several years after the beginning, switch to a complete morning and evening rule. It lasts about 20 minutes.
Thus, the habit of praying morning and evening, sharing your thoughts and desires with God, asking forgiveness for sins, will become a habit.
How can a non-believer be convinced of the existence of God?
I would advise him to first turn within himself, and then he will feel that the religious feeling is inherent in him. This feeling is the first stone in the foundation of faith. As scientists say, there are no non-religious peoples. Any tribe that is lost in the forests of the Amazon or on the islands of the Pacific Ocean has a belief in some kind of supernatural being or force. This is inherent in us, and the fact that a person wants to be convinced of the existence of something higher is the first step in understanding that God exists. Tertullian also spoke about this, arguing that the human soul is Christian by nature.
So, to help us become convinced of the existence of God, knowledge of the natural sciences: biology, physics, chemistry. However, not only these subjects, but also literature and history are religious in their content. By studying them, we come to the conviction that God exists. We see His manifestations from different sides: from the point of view of the structure of the world - and from the point of view of His communication with man, his influence on the life of humanity as a whole. As the ancient Greeks said, philosophy is not far from theology. You just need to not be afraid to admit that there is a root cause of everything that exists, there is One who rules this wonderful world.
For example, one physicist draws our attention to the distance separating the Earth from the Sun and invites us to realize: if it were even a little greater, we would die from the heat, if less, we would die from the cold. Who calculated this distance? Or another example: genetics has been actively developing over the last hundred years. Man isolated a gene from DNA. A gene is matter, but at the same time it is a carrier of information. What is this information? It is intangible and cannot be touched. And although scientists now say that they can transfer information from one DNA to another, they cannot create any new information that they could put there. We operate only with information invented by someone. By whom? And where did she come from? I can’t say that the information on my flash drive appeared by itself - I wrote it there. So it is with genes. Through the knowledge of such things, a person will definitely come to know the Creator, otherwise it will not work.
Scientists only discover laws, not invent them. These laws existed before them and will exist after them. Who created them? Who makes sure that they work religiously for many millennia? When these questions accumulate, a person must boldly admit that the Lord God exists and bow before Him - like the apostles in their time, who asked: “Lord, increase our faith!” That is, conviction must turn into faith; it should not exist on its own. A person who craves such conviction must understand that this is necessary for his life, for the correct perception of the world around him, for building his relationships with it, with the people inhabiting it, and with its Creator.
If a person wants to be convinced of the existence of God, he needs to have not just curiosity or a thirst for knowledge, but a thirst for knowledge of the Truth, knowledge of the primary source of all things. He must also want to understand who he is, why he appeared in this world, where his place is in it.
First prayers
Prayer to the Holy Spirit:
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.
Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity:
Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord's Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Symbol of faith:
I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, to Whom all things were. For our sake, man and our salvation came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. She was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried. And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And again the coming one will be judged with glory by the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giving One, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets. Into one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I hope for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century. Amen.
Virgin Mary:
Virgin Mary, Rejoice, O Blessed Mary, the Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women and blessed is the Fruit of Your womb, for You have given birth to the Savior of our souls.
Worthy to eat:
It is worthy to eat as you truly bless Thee, the Mother of God, the Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and the Mother of our God. We magnify You, the most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption.
We must go to God, but sometimes He comes to meet us halfway
Let's turn to the history of religion. Abraham lived in Mesopotamia, to whom the Lord once said: “Get out of this country!” - that is, I addressed him directly. It follows from this that there is another way to be convinced of the existence of God: revelation. One day a person has to realize that acting with reason can be a mistake. It is necessary to include irrational ways of knowing. In particular, to take on faith the revelation that God Himself brought to us, because we cannot understand the essence of the Divine, we are limited. In this case, we should humble ourselves and understand that we can only learn about God what He has revealed to us. We would never have known of His existence if He did not want it.
We can approach the process of knowing God as a scientific subject - there is such a science as theology, which is studied in the theological faculties of educational institutions - and as an irrational revelation that came down from above. If revelation does not happen, we can follow the first path. To do this, we will rely on spiritual authorities - people who have had experience communicating with God - and on the Holy Scriptures, which talk about Him. On this path we also need patience, will, time, thirst for knowledge and good teachers who will help us ask questions and formulate the right conclusions. I note that we need to follow this path with a positive attitude, that is, we cannot doubt the correctness of the Creator’s actions, His love for His creation and the good final goal of humanity’s existence on earth. We must immediately accept the postulate that God is love. If we allow doubt as to why everything is this way or that way, we can become very seriously confused, as many philosophers have become confused.
All steps must be taken with love for the One to whom you are going, because you are going to the source of love, its root cause, to the One who loves you more than anyone in the world. You are going to the Person, thanks to Whose love we exist. On this path, we admire nature, the structure of the world, wonderful human qualities - sacrifice, love, mutual understanding, honesty, mercy, compassion - and the further we go, the more convinced we are of His existence.
WHERE DOES GOD WANT YOU TO SEE?
All this means that the sphere of faith is a real place that has boundaries and a perimeter. Just as you can live in the city or outside the city, you can live in faith or out of faith. The determining factor is whether you are where God wants you to be and whether you are obediently fulfilling the assignment He has given you. God wants you to be located at the address of faith, because this is the location He considers most useful and favorable for you. The place of faith is the very place where God told you to come and stay there; remain resolutely and irrevocably on the territory of faith.
Thus, this portion of Hebrews 11:6 would be more accurately rendered as follows:
“If you live outside of faith, outside its boundaries, outside its perimeter, then it is impossible to please God.”
Here is a very precise summary of this passage in Hebrews 11:6.
What if I don’t feel God’s love? How to love someone I don't know?
Everyone who believes in God has been in this situation to one degree or another. I think there are various ways in which a person arrives at a final belief. The ultimate conviction is love itself. After all, demons also believe in God, but they do not love Him and do not want to obey Him. Perhaps, initially, when we take this path, we must accept as an axiom that God is love, and perceive everything that will be revealed in the future only through its prism.
There are two factors: God's love for us and our love for God. The first exists unambiguously, but we may not understand it. And our love for God is clear to us, we can determine how much we love Him. But even in this case there are questions. On the one hand, we love God, on the other hand, it is written in the Gospel: “Whoever loves Me will keep My word” (John 14:23), that is, he who fulfills the commandments. But I cannot keep them, I fall, I am tempted, I am weak and sinful - does that mean I don’t love God? It is also said: “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). And what if everything is wrong in my life?
Third stage
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It is impossible to understand the meaning of prayers and services without reading the Gospel. It can be bought in any temple, including in Russian. There are also audio recordings, which is very convenient for beginners and busy people. The Gospel must be read daily. Start with the Gospel of Mark, then Luke, and then Matthew and John. This will give a clear understanding of many prayers and church hymns, and an understanding of the parables spoken by the Lord or the apostolic epistles will come.
The eternal question: what to do?
What if a person doesn’t love God? Recognized His existence, but cannot love? This means he needs to change something in his life. Usually a person blames God for being different. It is generally common for people to blame not themselves, but someone else. Look at how conflicts occur in relationships: rarely does anyone admit their guilt; as a rule, everyone blames the opposite side. But if you look into it, it turns out that our guilt is very significant...
In this matter, a person needs to show humility and realize who he is - and who the Creator is. You need to bow before His greatness, go to Him not with your head held high, but at least with respect. It would be nice if admiration and gratitude were added to it. After all, we live in a wonderful world in which everything is arranged for us. We have our existence, and it is eternal, we feel and understand it.
You also need to communicate with people who have managed to love God and ask about their experience. After all, we will not talk about family life with a person for whom it has not worked out. Whatever field we take, we will not seek advice in it from someone who has not succeeded in it. We will be interested in the experiences of successful people. A person who wants to know God must communicate with churchgoers, read books written by the holy fathers, lives, turn to church history - in order to learn as much as possible about the lives of people who found love for God during their lives.
I would also advise people to pay attention to their attitude towards the world. Now everyone has a very negative opinion, which is not surprising: in all media, ten out of ten news is usually bad. People get used to seeing negativity, they get the impression that they have nothing to thank God for, they do not see His good providence. We need to learn from bees, who fly many kilometers in search of nectar. We will look for news that will give us a different attitude towards the world - kind and grateful.
We need to pray. Do not read some akathists - a non-believer, of course, will not do this. But if you want to be convinced of the existence of God, you can ask Him to help you with this. And you will not be the first to do this: the father of the demon-possessed youth prayed: “I believe, Lord! help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24), even the apostles prayed: “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).
We need to communicate with those who are convinced of the existence of God, accepted Him, loved Him and are ready to share their experience. It was no coincidence that the Lord sent the apostles to the people and told them: “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). That is, we need knowledge about God and we need people who will give it. Look for such people.
You need to look for opportunities to expand your knowledge and reflect on the meaning of life. Ask yourself more often: “What am I living for?” You must understand that knowing God is extremely necessary for you, because without Him life will have no meaning. If He does not exist, if there is no eternity, then you are the most unfortunate person.
How to love God.
There is a very effective type of meditation (concentration of attention - regardless of religious direction).
The work of our brain (like any computer) is based on the principle of comparison. We see an object, or some object, and, in accordance with similar information in our memory, our brain produces appropriate information and actions. Thus, our brain constantly spends a large amount of its analytical energy on constant analysis of surrounding objects, based on material interests. Even if we don't realize it. In order for the brain not to waste a lot of its energy, we need to try to think that everything we see around belongs to the Almighty. Since, in fact, everything is “made” from his energy. And also - permeated with His energy, and His energy - permeates and supports - the entire universe (including ourselves). When we learn to look at everything in exactly this way - the only correct, true way, our brain will stop, out of habit, “looking” for benefit from the objects and objects we are considering. As a result, we can feel how a very large amount of our psychic energy has been FREEDOM! As a result, we get two important things:
a) Release of a significant amount of psychic energy (in analytical form). This will be expressed in high tone, increased cognitive abilities, etc.
b) We will learn to constantly think about the presence of the Almighty in the form of His all-pervading, omniscient (He knows everything), and all-supporting energy. A constant image of such thinking leads to one of the highest levels of spiritual perfection.
To understand how to love God with all your heart , just remembering His energies and turning to Him is not enough. One must dedicate one's actions to His service. This universe is designed in such a way that the Almighty Himself does not reveal Himself to man. Knowledge about the Absolute Divine Truth is spread by people who directly decide to dedicate their actions to the service of the Almighty.
In Christianity and Vaishnavism, the following types of relationships with God are considered.
- Servant of God (“servant of God” in Christianity).
- Treating God as a Friend.
- Love for God.
(Vaishnavism also considers other types of relationships with God).
When a person begins to act for the Almighty, then the actions themselves begin to directly connect him with God. A person who acts (serves) for the Almighty begins to feel this direct connection with God. At the same time, he receives transcendental (spiritual) bliss, which cannot be compared in quality to any of the material pleasures. This reliably strengthens the emerging mutual connection between the devotee and the Supreme. And a person moves into the next one - a friendly relationship with God. Having become familiar with the sacred scriptures of the incarnation of the Almighty, a person gets the opportunity to develop his attitude towards God in a certain form. This gives him an incomparable advantage in being able to draw closer to and love God! But a person who is not at the proper level of spiritual development, and divides spiritual knowledge about the Almighty into “mine” and “yours,” “ours” and “not ours,” deprives himself of such an opportunity.
The actions of the incarnation of the Supreme in the form of Krishna are described in the BHAGAVAD-GITA, Srimad-Bhagavatam and other sacred scriptures.
Of course, if Krishna's actions were no different from the actions of an ordinary person, we would not know anything about them. And no one would even think of calling Krishna an incarnation of God. But Krishna performs such actions that no man can do. For example, an action such as detaching a large mountain from the ground and lifting it above the surface on one hand, so that the residents and domestic animals of an entire settlement could hide under it from a heavy downpour. And this is not the only action that is described in the scriptures.
The scriptures describe the life of Krishna, starting from childhood. He is described in the human form of a child of unearthly beauty. Further, it grows. His childhood games are described. Then His life is described in the form of a teenager and a young man of ideal beauty. Krishna does not age, and retains an eternally youthful form, even when He has great-grandchildren. The description of the human form of Krishna (the Supreme) at various ages, starting from the age of a child, gives the reader a unique opportunity to develop the lovingly attractive side of his feelings towards the Supreme. This makes love feelings for God the most multifaceted and complete. Just try to imagine: the Supreme Mind, the Supreme Being incarnated before you in the image of a 5-6 year old boy with dark blue skin, ideal beauty. Only so that you can develop divine love for Him. Moreover, He is also a hooligan. When imagining Him in the form of a human child, one must not forget that this is an Almighty Being. And He, in His power, always responds to the sincere feelings of His devotees, helping to develop divine, incomparable love for Him.
Growing up, Krishna turns into a young man whose beauty cannot be compared with anything. In this human form, without changing, He remains on Earth for about 110 years (125 years in total).
Its magnificence helps to develop another facet of love attraction in a person. A person who reads the scriptures about Krishna gradually develops in himself a versatile and multifaceted feeling of love for the Supreme. This helps him to be constantly aware of the Absolute Truth. Developing such thinking, a person, during the death of his physical body, in his next life incarnates in the transcendental (spiritual) universes in a new transcendental body. In the spiritual world, the devotee meets a new spiritual form of the Supreme.
This is what the Almighty Himself says:
“The mind of one who meditates on objects of sense pleasure is sure to become entangled in them, but if a person constantly remembers Me, then his mind becomes immersed in Me.
“Therefore one should give up all material processes of elevation, which are like the creations of the mind in sleep, and should completely absorb his mind in Me. Constantly thinking of Me, he becomes pure.”
(“Srimad – Bhagavatam”, Canto 11, Chapter 14, Texts 27 – 28).
“Srimad - Bhagavatam” It is recommended to study immediately after “BHAGAVAD _ GITA”). “Think of Me as the omniscient, ancient Supreme Personality, as the ruler of the universe, as the one who is less than the smallest and who maintains the entire universe; as one who is above all material ideas, who is incomprehensible and who always remains a person; as one who shines like the Sun, who is beyond the material world.” ( Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 8, Text 9 )
“...he who constantly remembers Me will be able to easily come to Me, for he serves Me all the time . (Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 8, Text 14).
Why was Steve Jobs an atheist?
It seems to me that many of the best minds of humanity, even those who position themselves as atheists, were not like that. They knew that God existed, but they did not want to obey Him. They wanted to communicate with Him on equal terms, but this is impossible. They are often extremely proud, and the Lord opposes the proud.
Moreover, we do not know whether those who considered themselves such actually died as atheists. I remember the incident described by Saint Paisius the Svyatogorets. A father came to him, whose son was an unbeliever and committed suicide - he jumped out of the window. The elder said: “While he was flying down, he could change his mind and repent.” The Lord is merciful, He accepts everyone’s repentance if it is sincere.
Perhaps the tragedy of these people is in their environment, which did not give them the opportunity to express what was burning in their souls. Maybe not even express it, but figure out what it was - and it was faith.
At the end of our conversation, I was reminded of a scene from the movie “Sorcerers,” when one of the characters tells how he manages to pass through walls: “I set a goal for myself and see no obstacles!” If a person wants to be convinced of the existence of God, he needs to follow the same path: set a goal - to understand the root cause of everything that happens in the world - and go towards it. There is no need to be afraid of difficulties. You need to learn, ask difficult questions - and he will definitely get answers to them. The Lord will help him in this and send him priceless pearls of faith. I advise you not to be afraid of this path, it is wonderful, because we have the opportunity to turn to the Creator of all things. I think that a person who seeks God will always be happy and joyful, because one day it will be revealed to him that “the earth is the Lord’s and what fills it, the universe and everything that lives in it, for He founded it on the seas and established it on the rivers” (Ps. 23:1-2).
Archpriest Vladimir Shutov
Trials help you gain strong faith
There is an entire chapter in Hebrews that is dedicated to the heroes of the faith. Hebrews 11 lists many people who became known for their strong faith.
“Some had to endure ridicule and whippings, while others were chained and thrown into prison. They were thrown with stones, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They clothed themselves in sheep's and goats' skins, were poor, persecuted and oppressed. The world was not worthy of these great people. They wandered in the mountains and deserts, lived in caves and earthen holes. These people were known to everyone because of their faith” (Hebrews 11:36-39).
You have probably already realized in your life that love and friendship are tested by trials. Faith is tested in the same way. There is another powerful passage in the Bible that talks about the test of faith, where faith is compared to testing the authenticity of gold:
“You rejoice in this, although it is inevitable that for some time you will be saddened by various trials. They are necessary, for your faith, more valuable than gold (which is perishable and whose integrity is tested by fire), will, having passed the test, earn honor, glory and praise when Jesus Christ appears” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Faith is like gold. Both faith and gold are tested by “fire.” With only one exception: faith is more valuable than gold! Real faith is tested by trials. Never and nowhere will you find a person about whom you can say that he has strong faith, if in his life there were no trials that would test this faith. The Bible says THEY ARE NECESSARY.
III. Two truths about God
God is just and therefore must punish sin
God is merciful and therefore does not want to punish us
The problem of our own salvation from Hell becomes even more complex when we learn what the Bible says about God. The hallmarks of God are mercy, love, goodness and grace. However, the same Bible says that God is just, holy and righteous. His purity does not allow Him to tolerate sin and therefore He must punish it. Holy Scripture tells us that God always frowns upon sin and commands all people everywhere to repent. Perhaps you have a question - why does a person go to Hell for sin? Let's see how many sins a good person can commit. Let us try very hard to do good every day, and even then we will invariably commit at least five, well, let there be three sins a day. We will sin 90 times a month already. 1080 per year. Over the course of 50 years of life, a good person sins at least 54,000 times. Now, you must agree, we would not be happy if the judge released, for example, the Tsapkov gang, who killed a family with children. The soul would indignantly demand justice and retribution. We can recall many cases when people were ready to organize lynching when they saw the inaction of law enforcement agencies. So tell me, what kind of judge would acquit 54,000 crimes? Will such a criminal really not be punished? Therefore, sin leads a person to Hell. To a place of eternal punishment for crimes against the eternal God. God does not want to punish us, but He cannot give eternal life to someone who unrestrainedly commits crimes against His commandments.
“...Then He will also say to those on the left hand: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels...” (Holy Gospel of Matthew 25:41)
While you are still alive there is a chance to turn to the mercy of God. The Lord sent His Son into the world so that man would have the opportunity to be reconciled with Him.
