His Beatitude: Faith of the heart is born through living by Commandments
The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church explained that faith is born through keeping God’s commandments, trusting in Him, and humbly submitting to His will.
On June 28, during his sermon on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine reflected on the Gospel account of the healing of the centurion’s servant, the UOC reported.
The Primate recalled that the centurion who approached Christ seeking healing for his servant demonstrated profound humility and faith.
“Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. Only speak a word, and my servant shall be healed,” Metropolitan Onuphry quoted from the Gospel narrative.
Metropolitan Onuphry explained that there are two kinds of faith: the faith of the mind and the faith of the heart.
“The faith of the mind is born from hearing the word,” he said.
According to the Primate, a person may intellectually acknowledge the existence of God while continuing to live not according to God's commandments but according to his own rules.
“The faith of the heart is born from fulfilling the word of God, from deeds,” His Beatitude emphasized.
He noted that such faith emerges when a person not only knows about God but entrusts himself entirely to His will.
“We often think that we can do anything we want, that whatever we desire we can accomplish. No – we accomplish only what God allows and helps us to accomplish,” Metropolitan Onuphry said.
The Primate added that the faith of the heart leads a person to humility.
“I do what I do because God grants me the ability to do it. My desires, my efforts, my hands are only a testimony that I wish to act. But it is God who accomplishes everything,” His Beatitude said.
According to Metropolitan Onuphry, living in accordance with God’s commandments brings spiritual joy and leads a person toward eternal salvation.
As the UOJ previously reported, the Primate of the UOC explained how to set the right priorities in life, stressing that “wealth without God makes a person the most miserable in the world.”
