Part 2 Chapter 12: Thirdly, One Should Carry the Cross

[尼古拉前执事]

Part 2 Chapter 12: Thirdly, One Should Carry the Cross for the Love of Christ

[Reader Benjamin]

Stavrophila: Truly, this is how grief should be accepted. For he who loves God and acknowledge His grace, there is nothing more joyful than to have the holy will of the Lord and the eternal godly plan being fulfilled in him. Submissiveness to God's will and desire for the glorification of His Name should come before everything else and give more comfort than all the favours which God gave and will still give.

This is our goal for why we carry our cross. No longer in fear of judgment, no longer interested in the rewards, but interested in God Himself. He is our desire. How long does it take to get to this point? Each of us are different. But I think that it is not mesured in days or months, but probably years, at least for most of us. And for those of us that came from some other form of Christianity than Orthodox, some of this time may even be included from our quest for God in protestantism of catholism. God knows our hearts. But the end is to desire God above all else, one step at a time.