Thursday, January 27, 2011

A fearful thing

It is
a fearful thing
to hate whom God
hath loved.

To look upon another—
his weaknesses,
his sins,
his faults,
his defects—
is to look upon one who is suffering.

He is suffering from negative passions,
from the same sinful human corruption
from which you yourself suffer…

Do not look upon him with judgmental eyes of comparison,
noting the sins you assume you’d never commit.

Rather, see him as a fellow sufferer,
a fellow human being who is in need of the very healing
of which you are in need.

Help him, love him, pray for him—
do unto him
as you would have him
do unto you.

“Remember who your teachers were…”
2 Timothy 3:14

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Dear Romanos,
I love Bishop Tikhon of Zadonsk, probably for the same reasons you do!
I've been reading a lot of him lately and here you are with a precious quote I'm sharing just as soon as I get off!
Lovingly, Mary Lona