We were born and came to the world with a destination and a purpose: To become Saints. Therefore, wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we must exercise and work on our holiness. In this life, with the help of God, we can achieve Holiness. “Be holy, for I am holy.” the apostle Peter quotes in his First Epistle (1 Peter 1:16) a well-known command of God to His people (Leviticus 11:44–45; 19:2; 20:7). If we fail, we demonstrate our aversion of God, and our life then degrades and becomes the joy and delight of the demons.
We live in difficult and dangerous times and because of that we should take the opportunity to, at least, give to God our will and our volition. Our Lord in return will give us our salvation. Thus, the person who has a volition that leads to God, feels the Grace of God within himself and throughout the whole Creation. And even though this person is still on earth, he is able to taste already something from the joy of Paradise.
From the homily: “A Few Flowers from The garden of Saint John of Sinai” by Archimandrite Chrysostom, Abbot of the Holy Monastery Saint Nikodimos the Hagiorite 2017