Steadfastness in the Lord
I want to speak to you tonight about steadfastness in the Lord, and the reasons that call the soul to be shaken from its steadfastness. The Lord did not suffice by saying to us, “You are in Me, and I in you” (Jn 14:20), but He said more than this: “Abide in Me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4). And the Lord praised His disciples, saying, “You are those who have continued with Me in My trials.”
Steadfastness in the Lord
So what is this steadfastness? And what is its importance and its seriousness? And what is it that hinders us from steadfastness in the Lord?
The spiritual ones are always steadfast in the Lord; they are never shaken at all. The Apostle advises them, saying, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…” (1 Cor 15:58).
The Lord likens their steadfastness in Him to a branch that abides in the vine, through which its sap flows, becoming one with it, and having no life except by abiding in the vine. And if it is separated from it, it dries up and dies… And Paul the Apostle gives an example of the branch that became “a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree.” And he says to it, “You stand by faith… Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God… but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off” (Rom 11:17–22). And just as the Lord likens the believing person to the branch that abides in the vine, He also likens him to the house built on the rock (Matt 7).
This house: the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it did not fall because of its steadfastness, because of its strong foundation, for it is founded on the rock… But the house founded on the sand had no steadfastness…
And the Lord gave us another parable: the good seed in the parable of the sower.
This good seed that has firm roots in the ground brought forth fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. But the one that had no root dried up. And the one that was not steadfast in the soil but was cast on the wayside was eaten by the birds; likewise the one choked by thorns…
But the children of God are always steadfast; birds cannot overcome them, nor thorns, nor dryness… Trials and stumbling blocks do not shake them…
There is an example of some disciples of Christ who, after walking with Him for a time, went back, for when Christ spoke about partaking of His Body and Blood, many went back and walked with Him no more, so that the Lord said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to go away…?” (Jn 6:66–67).
Those who departed were not steadfast in the Lord. But the steadfast ones said to Him, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Lot’s wife is also an example of those who were not steadfast, for she looked back. Likewise, the people of Israel in the wilderness, for they longed again for the land of slavery and murmured against the Lord…
Therefore we see Scripture saying, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit…” And it likens those who turn back to “the dog that returns to its vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire”… Surely Lot’s wife did not leave Sodom with her whole heart; therefore she was not steadfast and looked back.
Paul the Apostle gives us a wonderful example of steadfastness in the Lord. He says in amazement and astonishment:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or nakedness, or peril…? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8). Thus he sees that all these hardships not only fail to shake steadfastness in the Lord, but that in all of them we triumph exceedingly…!
And thus the Apostle, steadfast in the Lord, continues, saying in confidence: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We learn the same lesson from the martyrs and confessors who were exposed to all kinds of torture and suffering, and yet remained steadfast in the faith, not shaken…
None of the cruelty of torture—flaying, scourging, pulling out nails and teeth, burning, dragging—was able to touch their strong, steadfast hearts. Rather, they faced all this with joy and were singing in prisons…
The person steadfast in the Lord is steadfast in His love. His relationship with God is not merely formalities or practices, or obedience or self-constraint.
Rather, it is a flaming love, of the type of which Scripture says, “Love never fails,” “Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it,” “Love is as strong as death.”
The one steadfast in faith and love is not shaken, but worships God even if he stands alone: as Noah did in a generation that God destroyed with the flood;
as Moses did among a stiff-necked people; and Joseph in an atmosphere of sin and temptation; and Jeremiah in a generation of whom the Lord said, “Do not pray for this people… for I will not hear you.”
There were persons who were great, yet they were shaken, even if for a time…
For example, the angel of the church of Ephesus to whom the Lord said, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” And Demas, the assistant of Paul the Apostle, who forsook him “having loved this present world”… and perished.
The person steadfast in God does not relate to Him through duties, commandments, and prohibitions, but through a personal relationship—a relationship of a son to his Father—love and faith.
This relationship is not affected by his other relationships with people…
So let no one say, “Most people are doing this; shall I stand alone…?” What concern is it of yours, my brother, with the majority?! The majority crucified Christ; will you crucify Him with them? The majority perished in the flood; will you perish with them? Your first and greatest example is the life of the Lord Christ, then the lives of the saints who were perfected in the faith…
You must not go with the current, rising with people’s rise and falling with their fall, or stumbling at their mistakes. Be steadfast in the Lord and do not stumble because of anyone…
Do not be influenced by people. If others fall, let them fall; but say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The person steadfast in the Lord is not only one who does not turn back, but one who always presses forward. His continual growth gives him warmth, zeal, and a drive that prevents him from looking around. Rather, he sets his face always toward Jerusalem.
The person steadfast in God has fixed goals that do not change. He is a person stronger than war, stronger than stumbling blocks and temptations…
An example: a hot cup placed on the table may cool down. But a vessel placed over fire—the liquid inside never cools…
Be continually aflame with the fire of the Spirit. Be like the burnt offering in the Book of Leviticus, of which it was said that its fire burns continually on the altar; it shall not be put out…
“It is the burnt offering, on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning… and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning… and burn the fat of the peace offerings on it. A perpetual fire shall burn on the altar; it shall never go out” (Lev 6).
If you want to be steadfast in the Lord, be like the burnt offering in which the fire burns, and upon which fuel is continually added, as well as the fat of the peace offerings. And do not neglect any means of grace…
If you want to remain continually aflame, associate with the strong—those fervent in spirit, careful in everything, filled with love and faith…
If you do not find strong persons to associate with, then associate with the lives of the saints, for they are like fuel on the altar of the burnt offering, igniting the heart with love and stirring zeal within it. When the life of Saint Anthony was read in Rome, it led to the spread of monasticism there, and caused the repentance of Augustine…
Return to the readings that influenced you in the past, and to the contemplations, sermons, liturgies, and hymns that used to affect you…
Know yourself, and know the things that strengthen you, and cling to them… Do not leave yourself without fuel to ignite you…
Do not slacken and do not be negligent, for those who slackened and were negligent and lazy eventually reached indifference and carelessness…
If there is a person who weakens your resolve or diminishes your spirituality, flee from him. For Scripture says, “If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you.” And be steadfast, unshaken. Do not stumble if another person grows weary in the way of the Lord. He may grow weary, but you should not. Perhaps he has circumstances and battles that you do not have.
Do not stumble because of those who fell, but rather pray for them and remain steadfast.
-
Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – Al-Keraza Magazine – Year Six (Issue Thirty-Six), 5-9-1975
For better translation support, please contact the center.
