𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙠 ☦ (𝙴𝚙𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚖)

After Liturgy today, I spent a long time in conversation with a couple of families inquiring into the Orthodox Church. The husbands are convinced of Orthodoxy. Their wives, coming from a Baptist background, are hesitant — and I understand why. So much of what they experienced in our worship was not discernible to them. They couldn't really follow it or understand it. The services feel foreign. They love God deeply, and they love Scripture. What is hard for them is our holistic approach to the faith — a faith guided by Holy Tradition. I make no judgment on them. I have compassion for where they're coming from. They believe they have a relationship with Christ, and it is not for me to deny that. But there is something so much deeper in the Orthodox faith — and they don't have to "get it" all at once. They need only ask God to open the door of their heart to a new way of experiencing Him. To be brave enough to take off the colored glasses through which they have read Scripture. Brick by brick, the wall of confusion will start coming down. In the end, there is one established Church, in which Christ is found in His fullness. That is the Pearl of Great Price — worth leaving everything behind. If that is where you are — drawn, but confused by it all — know this: you have room to wrestle with your doubts in the Church. God will meet you where you are, and a good priest will try to guide you where you need to go. God loves us all, and He wants us to experience the fullness of His revelation in His Church. Come and see.