Thoughts on God, Us and Time
By Michael Haldas, July 11, 1916
“Our future is not about what we have or don’t have, or about what might happen or what might not happen. Our future is all about Who we know and how well we know Him…In life, in death, and for eternity our relationship with God is what matters most, and therefore should be our main concern here and now.” (Cindi McMenamin, J.I. Packer)
“Some of us live in the past, our lives driven by memories of some powerful experience, defining event, or former relationship. Past-oriented people mix their present choices and relationships with a reality that no longer exists. They steer through life following the dictates of something or someone gone by.” (Dynamis 11/25/2014)
“If we are sensitive to each moment as God’s moment, we can be grateful for interruptions, because God often moves in unexpected ways.” (Albert S. Rossi)
“The time which you lend to God is not lost: He will return it to you with abundant interest.” (St. Basil the Great)
“…how we live in the life to come depends on how we live in this life. If in our deepest heart we love God and seek His Kingdom, we shall surely find it. But if we are wrapped up in ourselves instead, we shall be unable to enjoy the life that God grants freely to all.” (Clark Carlton)
Thoughts on Indifference
By Michael Haldas, July 12, 2016
“The greatest obstacle to sharing Christ’s pastoral care is the temptation to serve only ourselves. We may give in to weariness, or simply become indifferent to others. However, the Lord Himself calls us to this struggle! We determine, like Saint Paul, to say that “we do not lose heart” (2 Cor 4:1).” (Dynamis 8/13/2014)
“A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings. It is clearly inconsistent to combat trafficking in endangered species while remaining completely indifferent to human trafficking, unconcerned about the poor, or undertaking to destroy another human being deemed unwanted.” (Pope Francis)
“The creation of such a good relationship with God should become our foremost priority, while the attending good relationship with the animal, natural and inanimate world should flow spontaneously from this. In this perspective, love for animals will not simply comprise a sterile social expression of compassion for our favorite animals, which might even sadly be accompanied by indifference for suffering human beings, who are created in the image of God, but the result of our good relationship with the Creator of all.” (Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew)
“Disobedience, indifference, willfulness, and disdain epitomize the spirit of the world in its rejection of what Christ desires.” (Dynamis 5/31/2014)
“Indifference is the mortar that can solidify a wall between two people.” (Gary and Mona Shriver)
~Michael Haldas, https://www.ancientfaith.com/contributors/michael_haldas.
Michael Haldas is an author, a religious educator and a speaker. He wrote Sacramental Living: Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life (published by Eastern Christian Publications), a book which he presented special editions of as gifts to Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in private audiences. Michael is also published monthly in Theosis Magazine and he has authored several Orthodox Christian themed articles for various publications. Additionally, he has recorded and contributed to multiple YouTube, DVD and CD educational projects. He teaches adult religious education and high school Sunday school at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George in Bethesda, Maryland and has worked with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Religious Education Department to create educational lessons and materials.
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