1 Corinthians 3:11-13
Complete Work—Gregory of Nyssa
Soldiers don’t arm themselves partially, leaving the rest of their bodies unprotected. For if they received their death wounds in the unprotected area, what would be the point of their partial armor?
Again, who would consider some feature flawless when in an accident it lost something essential to beauty? The disfigurement of the mutilated part destroys the grace of the untouched part.
The gospel implies that those who try to build a tower but spend all their time on the foundation and never finish are ridiculous. From the Parable of the Tower, we also learn to work hard and finish every lofty goal, to complete the work of God through the varied structures of His commandment.
Of course, one stone doesn’t make an entire tower any more than obeying one commandment lifts the soul to the required height of perfection. By all means, the foundation must be laid first. But, as the Apostle Paul says, the structure of gold and precious gems must be built over it. For the psalmist cries, “I have loved Thy commandment above gold and many a precious stone.”
Readings taken from Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers
Complete Work—Gregory of Nyssa
Soldiers don’t arm themselves partially, leaving the rest of their bodies unprotected. For if they received their death wounds in the unprotected area, what would be the point of their partial armor?
Again, who would consider some feature flawless when in an accident it lost something essential to beauty? The disfigurement of the mutilated part destroys the grace of the untouched part.
The gospel implies that those who try to build a tower but spend all their time on the foundation and never finish are ridiculous. From the Parable of the Tower, we also learn to work hard and finish every lofty goal, to complete the work of God through the varied structures of His commandment.
Of course, one stone doesn’t make an entire tower any more than obeying one commandment lifts the soul to the required height of perfection. By all means, the foundation must be laid first. But, as the Apostle Paul says, the structure of gold and precious gems must be built over it. For the psalmist cries, “I have loved Thy commandment above gold and many a precious stone.”
Readings taken from Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers
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