On Life 198 – Be a Light – December 8, 2017

   A friend of mine told me, “I have still believed that life’s hard, and has nothing, save pain and agony. Good has become a shadow which you might not reach. You might as well consider yourself beguiled by hope!” I told him, “I hear a tone of pain to which I’m not used to. Wait and contemplate life and humans’ steps well. Maybe then you find out answers which you can’t when you remain in your agonies and personal experiences that overshadow the light of life.”

   First, let us agree that God is the only source of good, and that all of us learn love and good deeds from Him. In fact, many souls glimmer, despite the darkness of our life. Contemplate this image: It is one of a drycleaner’s which owner put a sign that says, “If you don’t work, and need to have your clothes cleaned for a job interview, we can clean them for you for free!” Isn’t this good, my friend?

   Here is another picture. What can you see there? My friend answered hastily, “An 82-dollar bill with a few words.” Can’t you notice something unusual? He paused, then said, “The original sum is 32 dollars, but the owner added 50 as tips, which is one and a half times the required sum.”
Indeed. Now, look what the man wrote, “This is to the memory of a love deed dedicated to our son, Joel, who used to glimmer with love in everybody’s life, hoping he lights your life, too. Thanks.” The parents who lost their child, their happiness bringer, wanted to make another heart happy, though they did not know him, even with some money the person might need.

   This is the goodness which a soul overflows with from God. It is the goodness that makes man learn how to give others and make them happy. It is the goodness that is open to all souls. What if these parents shut themselves in the sadness for losing their son? Would they have know the relief of making others happy? I can imagine them looking at the bill, then giving a love deed to the waiter and looking to heaven to see their son Joel smiling to them, as if to thank them for filling a heart with happiness as he used to do.

Be a light, my friend, to reflect the goodness which God created within you that whoever sees you might say, “Indeed, I see God!”

General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center