Bishop Pajsije: The Christian Gives Thanks to God in All Things
What the video says
The speaker says nothing is more beautiful or magnificent than when a person freely rejects all that is unimportant and valueless, even though such things impose themselves on everything. By free will the person takes on Christ's yoke and accepts everything encountered on that path with joy.
No one naturally loves torture, suffering, or hardships, but when they come because of Christ and His name, the true servant of God accepts pain, torture, hardships, and everything that befalls him with joy.
Key moments
- Nothing is more beautiful or magnificent than a person freely rejecting the unimportant and valueless.
- These unimportant things impose themselves on everything.
- The person rejects them by free will and takes on Christ's yoke by free will.
- Then everything encountered on that path is accepted with joy.
- No one loves torture, suffering, or hardships.
- When they come because of Christ and His name, the true servant of God accepts them with joy.
- This includes pain, torture, hardships, and everything that befalls him.
Bishop Pajsije speaks about the freedom of a person who rejects what is unimportant and valueless and takes on Christ's yoke by free will. He says nothing is more beautiful or magnificent than this choice, because such worthless things impose themselves on everything around us, and it takes a free decision to turn from them. The one who makes this choice accepts with joy everything met on that path.
The bishop is careful to note that no one by nature loves torture, suffering, or hardships; pain is not loved for its own sake. The difference lies in the cause: when sufferings come because of Christ and His name, the true servant of God accepts pain, torture, hardships, and everything that befalls him with joy. The title of the talk states the theme directly: the Christian gives thanks to God in all things.
The talk was posted with tags pointing to church life and mission, and it belongs to a series of short catechetical addresses in which the bishop applies the Gospel to daily endurance of trials. The structure of the thought moves from freedom to acceptance: first the free rejection of what is worthless, then the free acceptance of Christ's yoke, then joy in whatever that path brings, even when it brings suffering.
The bishop does not call believers to seek out suffering; he describes the stance of one who, when suffering arrives for the sake of Christ, receives it with thanksgiving rather than despair. The address is short and spoken, and its force lies in the plain contrast it draws between what imposes itself on us and what we choose freely.
Main points
- Nothing is more beautiful than a person freely rejecting what is unimportant and valueless, though such things impose themselves on everything.
- By free will the person takes on Christ's yoke and accepts everything encountered on that path with joy.
- No one by nature loves torture, suffering, or hardships.
- When sufferings come because of Christ and His name, the true servant of God accepts them with joy.
- This acceptance covers pain, torture, hardships, and everything that befalls him.