Before the sun shining in the heavens, all people walk, and the sun looks at everyone and everyone. So also before God, omnipresent and looking at all things, people walk, and whatever anyone does, thinks, begins, or conceives, all the eyes of the Lord see. The Lord looked down from heaven, saw all the sons of men. From His prepared dwelling place He looked upon all who dwell on the earth. He Who created their hearts, and takes heed into all their deeds (Psalm 32:13-15). And also: "Thy eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruits of his works" (Jeremiah 32:19). And again: The eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, and behold all the ways of men, and penetrate into hidden places. He knew everything before it was created, as well as after it was done (Sir. 23:27-29).

We must walk before God, as before the All-Seeing One and everyone who rewards His path, with fear, fear and reverence, and do whatever pleases His holy will – let us not anger His majesty. Take heed, therefore, that ye walk carefully, not as foolish men, but as wise men," the Apostle tells us (Ephesians 5:15).

Oh, man! God looks at you, and whatever you do, think, begin, or conceive of everything that you love, hate, console yourself and offend yourself, seek for, run away from, treat Him, your Creator, how you treat your neighbor – He sees you. How and what you say, how and what you ask and answer, He hears you and will reward you in your way and according to the fruit of your undertakings. Take heed, beloved, tread carefully, not as an unwise man, but as a wise man!

When the sun shines in the sky, everything is clear. Everyone sees the path along which one must go, and where to go, what to do and what to evade. He sees, distinguishes one thing from another, and what is useful from what is harmful, and so on. A man goes out to his work, and to his work until the evening (Psalm 103:23). So it is in the soul, which Christ, the righteous Sun, enlightens. Such a soul sees everything clearly, cognizes the charm and vanity of this world, cognizes good and evil, vice and virtue, harm and benefit, the path to perdition and the path leading to eternal life, performs deeds pleasing to God and useful to itself. For such a soul the word of God is sweet, as God Himself. Such a soul considers everything pleasant and dear in this world for nothing, remembering the words of the Saviour: What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Matt. 16:26), – and always strives for blessed eternity. She has only one thing in mind, how to please God, her Creator, and to be among those who are saved. Blessed is the soul that the Divine illumines with Light!

When the sun sets, there is night and darkness. Then people do not see anything, do not distinguish one thing from another, and walk like blind men, fall into a pit, and do not know how to avoid harm. Such is the state of those souls in whom the light of Christ has not shone! They feel like blind men, they do not distinguish between good and evil, they do not distinguish between good and harm, they fall from sin into sin. They grasp at what is nothing in itself, they set aside what is great. They think that they are going the right way, but they do not know that he leads them into the pit of destruction.

In essence, such are those who have united with the vanity of this world and are only learning how to accumulate great wealth, deserve high honor, become famous in this world, and so on, but they care little about the eternal treasure of salvation and consider it the last thing. This is worthy of surprise or, rather, regret! They see that those who die and those who depart from this world leave everything in the world and leave the world naked, just as they entered the world. However, they try so hard to get rich, as if they live forever in peace. And it is surprising that it is not the pagans, who have no hope, who have become entangled in such vanity, but the fact that this is done by Christians, called to eternal life and eternal blessings, of which they always hear in the Gospel. Oh, poor and accursed man! As you do not see the deception of this world, you chase after that which is small and soon, like smoke, disappears. How do you forsake that which is true and endures forever! Everything that we have in this world, except virtue alone, departs from us, but what we receive in eternity will never be separated.

But in order for a person to be freed from such blindness and darkness and to be enlightened by the light of Christ, it is necessary to approach Christ, the true Light, and ask Him with the blind: have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! (Matt. 20:30), and always look at the example of His holy life, and follow His holy footsteps. Then the true Light, Christ, will enlighten such a person. For when we have light before us and look at it, we are enlightened. In the same way, the soul, when it approaches Christ, and looks at the image of His most holy life, and follows Him, it is enlightened by His light. The closer we are to the light, the more enlightened we become. The light is Christ. Whoever comes closer to this Light will be more enlightened and will no longer walk in darkness. I am the Light of the world; whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). For he who walks in Christ will not walk in darkness, but he who departs from this Light will certainly walk in darkness.

The sun warms the entire celestial realm and, as it were, enlivens it. In the same way, God, the eternal Sun, with the warmth of His love, warms and enlivens all creation, and most of all the human race. For in Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). And most of all, He poured out all the warmth of His love on us, sending His Only-begotten Son to us – to us who have apostatized from Him and perished. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:16-17). Praise the Lord, all nations, praise Him, all nations; for His mercy toward us is unshaken, and the truth of the Lord endureth forever (Psalm 116:1-2). Praise you, my soul, the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from now until forever! Think, Christian, about this great deed and thank God!

Everyone looks at the sun and, wanting to warm it with warmth, reaches out to it. In the same way, all the faithful look to God and are warmed by the warmth of His mercy. The eyes of all trust in Thee, and Thou givest them their food in due season; Thou openest Thy hand, and satisfies all that liveth according to Thy good pleasure" (Psalm 144:15-16). Hear us, O God, our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are in the sea far off (Psalm 64:6). Lift up your eyes to God, O Christian, that you may be warmed by the warmth of His mercy, and speak more often to the Prophet from the depths of your heart: To Thee have I lifted up my eyes, Who dwelleth in heaven! Behold, as the eyes of servants are turned to the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a servant are to the hands of her mistress, so our eyes are to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us (Psalm 122:1-2).

Without the sun, no fruit grows or ripens. In the same way, without God, the eternal Sun, no good deed begins, is not done, is not accomplished. Our good desire, our good beginning, the middle and the end are His work. He begins in us, does and accomplishes. Without Him we can do nothing: for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

Therefore, Christian, learn:

1) To know your weakness, wretchedness, and insignificance, to know that you in yourself are nothing but a withered tree that cannot bear any fruit.

2) From this, learn humility.

3) Attribute every good deed that you have done or are doing to God alone – lest you appropriate His work to yourself, and steal His glory, and thereby sin grievously.