Signs of True Spiritual Zeal as Distinct From Merely Soulish Zeal

Last time I set out to draw conclusions and did not carry them through to the end—yet that was precisely the main thing required. The conclusion is this: you are to know that the zeal of which we spoke—active, living, burning, untiring zeal—is the sign that our spirit has been restored in its strength and rights through reunion with God by the grace and working of the Holy Spirit. Flashes of zeal do occur in us on our own, but they flare up and go out.

Zeal that is always burning, constant and untiring, comes only from the grace of the Holy Spirit upon our spirit. So then, when you have such zeal, it means that your spirit too has been restored—and, as long as you do not quench it, it will take into its hands both the soul and the body, all the needs of your nature and all your domestic and civic relations, and direct them all toward one end: pleasing God and salvation. Answer me, then: do you have it or not?

I expect that it will be very difficult for you to answer this, and not for modesty alone. Let me come to your aid. Do not confuse one kind of zeal with another. Spiritual zeal is spent entirely on pleasing God and saving the soul; it is filled with the fear of God and maintains unceasing attention to God, caring in every way to permit nothing—neither in thoughts, nor in feelings, nor in words, nor in deeds—that would be displeasing to God, as conscience directs it; it keeps the conscience pure as a mirror, guards the heart from all attachments to anything except God and divine things, and in its hopes it migrates to the other world, having cut off all earthly hopes. It does not disdain what is necessary for this temporal life, but everything pertaining to it is for it a mere appendage; the one thing is this: pleasing God and salvation. You see? Please reflect carefully on this and examine yourself accordingly.

Also bear in mind that there is such a thing as soulish zeal, and it can be a powerful zeal at that. But it is entirely directed toward the arrangement of this temporal life. Some are zealous about scholarly pursuits, losing sleep over them; others about the arts, running all over the world; others about industry and trade, sparing no effort; others about something else—domestic or civic matters. All of this would be nothing, but the trouble is that when any one of these zealous passions takes hold of a person’s attention and energies, it extinguishes spiritual zeal.

Soulish zeal, in its best manifestations such as those just described, is cold toward spiritual things and drives away any inclination to engage with what satisfies spiritual zeal. As for other kinds of zeal, there is nothing to say about how contrary they are to the spiritual. For there is also vain zeal (about dress and the like) and there is evil zeal—vicious and sinful—directed toward the satisfaction of the passions. These latter do not merely cool spiritual zeal; they are utterly hostile to it, and both suppress it within themselves when it stirs in the conscience, and in others pursue and persecute it. See how many kinds of zeal there are! Please look carefully to see whether any of them has a place in you.

Spiritual zeal does not drive out soulish zeal (scholarly, artistic, domestic, civic) but only moderates and orders it, directing it to its own ends and not allowing it to pursue anything contrary to itself. It drives out only vain and passionate zeal and does not permit them to appear in the sphere of life of the person it has taken hold of. There is only one case in which it does not allow even soulish zeal to have its way—namely, when it sees that the works and occupations needed to satisfy that soulish zeal—learning, arts, crafts, family life, civic service and duties—give no room to itself, hemming it in, cooling and extinguishing it. In that case it tears the person it has seized completely out of those patterns of life governed by soulish zeal and leads him to a place where he occupies himself solely with satisfying it—spiritual zeal. You can guess what is being spoken of here!

I am setting off for you the bounds of true spiritual zeal from everything peripheral, so that you may see clearly what it is and become zealous for it. It is that ”fire” which the Lord came to ”cast” upon the earth (Lk. 12:49), which, having fallen upon the earth of our nature, consumes there all that is worthless, and refines and purifies all that is worthy. The Apostle had this in mind when he wrote to the Thessalonians: ”Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:19). For although this Spirit is the Spirit of grace, His presence in us is witnessed by the burning of spiritual zeal, and He is quenched when this zeal is extinguished. He had the same thing in mind when he instructed the Romans: “Be not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11).

Diligence and tirelessness are zeal itself; fervor in spirit is the witness of its presence and activity; serving the Lord is the direction and spirit of this zeal. Directing such zeal, the same Apostle enjoins the Philippians: ”Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things… and the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:8–9). This is what the spirit that is enlivened and united with God strives for—and by virtue of such zeal it preserves that union. Therefore the God of peace abides with it—a blessing above which there is no other.

Defining also the proper direction of zeal, he writes to the Romans: ”I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, your rational worship; and do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1–2). The renewal of the mind is the renewal of our spirit by grace. Having come to life, it is freed from the affairs of this age and is zealous only for pleasing God, offering all of itself to God as a sacrifice that is ”living” and ”holy,” and therefore ”acceptable” to God.

So there you have what zeal is, what its power is, and what its directions are! Since the significance of this zeal is so great, you will agree yourselves that it is worth the effort to determine whether or not you and I possess it. And do make this effort. The feast of the Nativity of Christ is approaching. I congratulate you and send you my greetings and good wishes! I also congratulate you on the New Year at the same time. Perhaps I will not manage to write to you before then.