The work of the Lord is our first priority

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgement with the men of this generation, and con­ demn them. For what? For indiffer­ ence to the work accomplished by the Lord before their eyes. That queen, upon hearing about Solo­ mon’s wisdom, came from afar to hear him, but these men,having be­ fore their face the Lord Himself, did not heed Him, although it was obvi­ ous that He was higher than Solo­ mon, as the sky is higher than the earth. And the queen of the south condemns everyone who is indiffer­ ent to God’s works, because the Lord always, even among us, is as obviously present in the Gospel ac­ counts as He was then. Reading the Gospels we have before our eyes the Lord with all of His marvellous works, for they are as doubtless as the testimony of one’s own eyes. Meanwhile, what is more attentive to the Lord as that which is im­ pressed upon our souls? We have closed our eyes or turned them the other way; this is why we do not see; and not seeing, we do not de­ vote ourselves to works of the Lord. However, this is no excuse, but rath­ er the reason behind our unheed­ fulness, which is as criminal as what comes from it. The work of the Lord is our top priority — that is, the salvation of the soul. Further­ more, we should heed what comes from the Lord even if it is not direct­ ly related to us; ever more so should we heed what is directed at us for the accomplishment of our essential work, the significance of which ex­ tends throughout eternity. Judge for yourselves how criminal it is to dis­ regard such a matter!

Saint Theophan the Recluse