Striving for the Sake of God
The lecture focuses on the fact that the true spiritual life is a life of striving and labor for the sake of God, and that the road leading to the Kingdom is the narrow gate and the difficult path. Therefore, a person cannot grow spiritually without spiritual struggle.
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that labor for the sake of God is the practical proof of a person’s love for God, because true love appears in what a person offers through sacrifice, endurance, and patience.
The lecture presents examples from the Holy Bible and the lives of the saints, such as Moses the Prophet, Paul the Apostle, David the Prophet, the martyrs, and the monks, who endured hardships and tribulations with love and steadfastness, becoming examples in the spiritual life.
It also emphasizes that trials and tribulations are not a sign that God has abandoned a person, but may instead be a sign of walking on the right path, as God uses them to purify, strengthen, and prepare the soul for the Kingdom.
The lecture explains that striving includes resisting sin, fighting laziness, persevering in prayer, fasting, spiritual reading, guarding the mind and heart, and refusing to surrender to desires or temptations.
It also affirms that the grace of God works together with the striving person, and that God never forgets any labor, tear, service, or prayer offered for His name, but rewards each person according to his labor.
The lecture calls every believer to establish a serious spiritual program, to walk in a life of discipline and striving, and not to seek comfort or ease, because holiness is attained only through spiritual labor.
It concludes by emphasizing that the Cross is the symbol of Christianity because it reminds the believer that the path to glory passes through striving and suffering, and that reaching the Kingdom of God requires faithfulness, steadfastness, and continual spiritual struggle.
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