Introduction (1)

People were not created to live only here, on earth, like the animals, which perish at their death; but solely to live with God and in God—and to live not a hundred or a thousand years, but to live eternally. And to live with God is given to Christians alone—that is, to those who rightly believe in Jesus Christ.

Every man, whoever he may be, desires and seeks his own well-being and happiness. To wish oneself good and to seek well-being or blessedness is an inborn feeling of man, and therefore it is neither sin nor vice. But one must know that here, on earth proper, true and perfect happiness and well-being has never been found, is not found, and never will be found; for all our well-being and blessedness is found in God alone: no one, ever, without God or apart from God, will find true happiness and perfect well-being.

In this world nothing but God can fill our heart or fully satisfy our desires. A fire is not quenched with brushwood and oil, for water alone can quench it; just so, the desires of the human heart are not satisfied by the goods of this world, for the grace of God alone can slake the thirst of our longings.

Everything we desire pleases us only so long as we do not yet possess it; once we obtain it, it soon wearies us. Or, to put it another way: only that which we do not yet have seems to us good and alluring, while all the things we already possess, even the very best of them, are either not enough for us or do not hold our interest. The best example of this is King Solomon, who, as is well known, was so rich that all the household furnishings in his palaces were of pure gold; so wise that kings came to listen to him; and so renowned that his enemies trembled before him. Being enlightened and powerful beyond all his contemporaries, he could satisfy his every desire and whim, so that there was scarcely a thing in the world that he did not have or could not obtain. Yet for all that, even he could not satisfy his heart, and the desires of his heart wearied and tormented him far more than they torment an ordinary man; and at last, having tried everything in the world, he said in his writings: all in this world is vanity, and nothing can satisfy our desires.

Truly, no earthly good can satisfy our heart: on earth we are strangers, sojourners, and travelers; our home and our fatherland are there, in the heavens, in the Kingdom of Heaven, and there are no things in the world that could perfectly satisfy our desires. Let a man take possession of the whole world and of all that is in it; yet all of this will occupy him, one might say, for only a moment, and will by no means satisfy his heart: for the heart of man can be fully satisfied and filled only with the love of God; and therefore God alone can fill the soul and heart of man and slake the thirst of his longings.

And so, brethren, if you wish to live with God there, in the Kingdom of Heaven—be Orthodox Christians. If you wish well-being and happiness for yourselves—seek it in God. And if you desire that your heart be fully satisfied—turn it to God, from whom you have estranged yourselves by your sins.

But know that no one, of himself, without Jesus Christ, can return and draw near to God: for our sins, like a high wall, do not let us approach Him. And had Jesus Christ, in His mercy toward us, not come down to earth, and had He not taken upon Himself human flesh and by His death broken down the wall that bars us from God, then all men would have perished beyond recovery, and not one man could have drawn near to God or could have lived with Him. For every man is a sinner; he is born in sin from his mother’s womb, and even in the infant—though it neither knows nor does anything of the things of this life—sin is already present, like a seed.

And therefore Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, Saviour, Deliverer, and Benefactor. And now every man, if only he will, may return to God and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

But know that the way into the Kingdom of Heaven is only one; and this way is the very one along which Jesus Christ passed while He lived on earth. There is no other way, nor was there ever, nor ever will there be; for Jesus Christ said: “I am the way” John 14:6, and: if anyone would follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.

And therefore it is most necessary for every Christian—indeed, for every man—to know what this way is, how to find it, and how to walk along it. And so here I wish to speak with you about this way; and although I myself know that I cannot show it to you as I ought, yet with all my strength I shall endeavor to do so—in hope upon Jesus Christ, who can use even mud itself for healing and for a remedy.

And so, whoever comes upon this little book of mine and wishes to read it will find in it nothing more than a weak and meager account of the way into the Kingdom of Heaven. But if anyone reads it with prayer to Jesus Christ, then He, as the Almighty, can by these my words also enlighten and warm the heart of the one who reads.

My account I divide into four parts:

1) Concerning what the blessings are that Jesus Christ granted us by His death.

2) How Jesus Christ lived on earth, and what He suffered for us.

3) What this way is, along which we must walk into the Kingdom of Heaven.

4) How Jesus Christ helps us to walk along this way, and how this help may be obtained.

O Lord Jesus Christ, to Thee I cry: hear me, Thine unworthy servant! Enlighten my mind; grant me that I may truly and plainly set forth Thy way into the Kingdom of glory, which Thou in Thy mercy hast granted us! And to those who hear and read this my account, grant that they may be filled with Thy love, enlightened with Thy knowledge, and established in Thy power; and warm our hearts with Thy Spirit—that we may joyfully and zealously walk along the way which Thou hast shown us.