February 26, 1946

And when he was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them: "The Kingdom of God will not come in a visible way, and they will not say, 'Behold, it is here,' or, 'Behold, there.' For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21). This is what is important for you to remember: that the Kingdom of God is within you.

People who are poorly enlightened, even from among the Orthodox, do not imagine the Kingdom of God in the way they should. Their idea is closer to the crude idea of Muslims. Muslims imagine the eternal life of the faithful as a joyful life in a beautiful garden, where they will be surrounded by beautiful young women, where they will enjoy wonderful food. This idea is crudely materialistic.

Christ said that the Kingdom of God is within us. It will not come in a conspicuous way, but will quietly and imperceptibly come into the hearts of men, and it is already in the hearts of the righteous, in the hearts of the saints of God. The Kingdom of God will begin for them while they are still alive. To live in the Kingdom of God means to live where God reigns.

Our deepest, most intimate spiritual life flows in the depths of our hearts, and the Kingdom of God will begin for us when the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. Then, according to the word of Christ, He Himself will come with the Father to those who have kept His commandments, and they will make their abode with Him. If the righteous are vouchsafed that the Holy Spirit will reign in his heart, it means that he is already in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is in his heart — the Holy Spirit dwells and reigns there.

Such a Kingdom of God does not come suddenly, does not come noticeably through the loud proclamation of the trumpet. The Kingdom of God is the quiet, peaceful, imperceptible entry of the Holy Spirit into human hearts.

Such saints as Seraphim of Sarov, Sergius of Radonezh, Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves were already in the Kingdom of God during their lifetime, the Holy Spirit dwelt in their hearts, and for them the radiant Kingdom of God began here on earth.

The Lord said to His disciples: "The days will come when you will desire to see even one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see; And they shall say unto you, Behold, here, or, behold, there, do not walk, nor pursue: for as the lightning flashing from one end of heaven shineth to the other end of heaven, so shall the Son of man be in his day" (Luke 17:22-24). So suddenly, so awesome will be His coming. It will be suddenly, when people will not expect it at all, on a day that only our Father in heaven knows.

But before this tremendous lightning flashes, Christ must, in His words, "suffer much, and be rejected by this generation" (v. 25). What suffering did the Lord Jesus Christ speak of here? He does not speak of His sufferings on the Cross, but of other sufferings which He will experience from people who have rejected Him all the days – from the Ascension to the Last Judgment. He knew that it would be difficult for Him to be rejected by the human race, that our sins would torment Him. All bloody wars between Christian nations cause great pain to His heart. We inflict this pain on Him with our lives, our sinful actions, evil thoughts, and impious words... We inflict this pain on Him when we serve our passions.

The Lord Jesus Christ speaks of this suffering: "I must suffer much, and be rejected by this generation." Mankind rejected Him for the most part... And we, His little flock, will be afraid to inflict even the slightest suffering on Him with our evil feelings, evil thoughts, and evil deeds. May the Lord God preserve you all from them!

How to Follow Christ

December 3, 1946

That's how few people in Simferopol need to listen to the word of God. Many thousands of people live in this city, and only a handful of people have come to listen to me.