People often believe they are free when they do whatever they desire. Yet a will that has not been purified from the passions leads one now to pride, now to pleasure, now to sorrow. True freedom begins when a person learns to submit his will to the truth of God.
Obedience is not a burden for the one who loves. A son obeys his father not because he is forced, but because he trusts his father’s love. Likewise, the soul that loves God begins to see His commandments not as chains, but as the sure path to life.
Very often God does not ask great things of us, but faithfulness in small ones: a restrained word, forgiveness freely given, a prayer offered with attention, a temptation endured without complaint. In these small acts, the inner man is built.
The one who learns obedience does not lose his will; he heals it. And as his will becomes united with the will of God, the heart begins to know a peace that the world cannot give.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)
