This reminds me of the quote at the end of the story of Joseph where he says , “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good”. It seems to me that God will use people despite their flaws and moral standing. However, those people focused on God’s will get to experience and participate willingly with it and are used in ways that eventually bring both them and God honor. This is aionian life: Life lived in relation to and animated by the eternal source. It isn’t merely directed by it.
Yes, this is how I have understood the Orthodox doctrine of Theosis. The flipside is that if you are not consciously participating with God, will you be able to rejoice in the fact that God was sovereign over your stupidity and/or rebellion? If you were merely ignorant, but still humble, you might be just delighted to see what a wonderful fool you played in the exact place where God needed a fool; you can laugh at yourself and fill eternity with laughter and joy and gratitude. If you are hostile to God in one way or another or, in other words, if you don't have that humility so that you find God using you as a fool when you didn't want to be a fool as an affront to your dignity, then you will be hating your fate and holding onto that perceived alienation through your pride (possibly) for eternity. It seems to follow that the real key to Heaven is humility... Maybe a love for the Good and humility together.
This reminds me of the quote at the end of the story of Joseph where he says , “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good”. It seems to me that God will use people despite their flaws and moral standing. However, those people focused on God’s will get to experience and participate willingly with it and are used in ways that eventually bring both them and God honor. This is aionian life: Life lived in relation to and animated by the eternal source. It isn’t merely directed by it.
Yes, this is how I have understood the Orthodox doctrine of Theosis. The flipside is that if you are not consciously participating with God, will you be able to rejoice in the fact that God was sovereign over your stupidity and/or rebellion? If you were merely ignorant, but still humble, you might be just delighted to see what a wonderful fool you played in the exact place where God needed a fool; you can laugh at yourself and fill eternity with laughter and joy and gratitude. If you are hostile to God in one way or another or, in other words, if you don't have that humility so that you find God using you as a fool when you didn't want to be a fool as an affront to your dignity, then you will be hating your fate and holding onto that perceived alienation through your pride (possibly) for eternity. It seems to follow that the real key to Heaven is humility... Maybe a love for the Good and humility together.