Long time ago a man asked an old monk:
`Father, who is righteous in God`s eyes? I heard a tale about a great miracle: a man who could fly, to go up in the sky by himself. Is this a sign that he is a righteous man in God`s eyes?
`No, son, not at all.`
`But I also heard another tale about a man walking on water. Is that one righteous in God`s eyes?`
`No, neither this one is like that.`
`But then who is righteous?`
`Righteous is that one who lives his life peacefully, in good faith and fear of God. If God wanted us to fly He would have given us wings.
The ai mis to be good Christians. To be a saint you don`t need to soar in the skies with your body, only to have your soul rising to the skies through prayers and good deeds. You don`t need either to walk on waters: only to have your soul always above sins and not to sink in them. Only like this, with a pure soul you can have a pure life. Only like this you can call yourself a good Christian and hope for salvation. The righteous is known after his peaceful and quiet life and his moderate living. That man will be righteous in the eyes of people and of God as well.
`We honor the saints imitating them.` (Saint John Chrysostom)
Excerpt from The most beautiful Christian Orthodox parables and stories– Leon Magdan, Aramis Publishing House– Romanian Patriarchy, 1998.
