St. Theophan: Thoughts: June 4/ June 17

(Rom. 5:1-10; Matt. 6:22-33). "If therefore your eye is good [pure, clean], your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness." The eye here stands for the mind and the body the whole soul. Thus, when the mind is simple then in the soul it will be light; when the mind is evil then in the soul it will be dark. What is a simple mind and what is an evil mind? A simple mind is one which accepts everything written in the word of God and indesputably is convinced that all is so as it is written: there is no cunning, no wavering or doubts in it. And evil mind is one which comes to the word of God with craftiness, cunning words and disregard. It is not able to believe correctly but submits the word of God under it's own understanding. It comes to the word not as a disciple but as a judge and critic in order to test what it says and then whether to sneer or to haughtily say, "Yes, that's not bad." Such a mind doesn't have a strict position for the reason that it obviously doesn't believe the word of God and it's own understanding is always unstable - now such a way and tomorrow another way. From this it has fluctuation, perplexity, questions without answers; its possessions are not in the same place and it walks rummaging in the dark. The simple mind sees everything clearly: it's well-defined character has all of its possessions, formed with the words of God, therefore, all of its possessions are in the same place and it knows exactly how it is in relationship to what to hold on to, it walks, it knows with comple assurance, by the open visible roads that they lead to the genuine goal.
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