“You who love the Lord, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10)
Absolute in His attribute, Holy and pure as He is, and for no uncleans is in Him, our Lord, God is a Good Father. The existence of Him before the creation of the world, for He does so now and forever, He lives in holiness in eternity. Before He created all the creatures by His mercy, He existed by sacred and triune; now also abodes glorified, sanctified and praised; as well will be praised in the future in His kingdom even for the inheritance of His honor and holiness to the Archangels and mankind. He did all this for His mercy, goodness, kindness and holy will.
Holy Scriptures teaches us Our Lord, God willed the existence of all creatures high up in the sky as well as upon earth. He is a good father and taught us to be good, gentle, merciful and kind children saying “I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) For He is holy, wills for His children to be Holy. “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Levites 11:45)
The flow of generations in the history of people yet willed not to fulfill the will of God nor did they live in goodness by keeping the rule and law of Him. Only few were the Lord’s people as witnessed by Holy Scriptures. Be it in the Old Testament or New Testament, one way or another we have deified God. The fact to be mentioned here is not only thinking bad rather good, but also the parting of us from the love of God, mercy, benevolence and safeguard.
The Prophet of God Saint David’s word, “You, who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints” could be a witness for this. (Psalm 97:10) Even if we face major obstacles and endure much pain as well as sorrow, the love of God we have, could be the tolerance for passing the predicaments; perseverance and strength in enduring the misery for we shall not execute any evil. We would like goodness but not badness. By the kindness envy we have for our Lord, we will hate evil.
It is proper to mention here the story of Ethiopian father, Abba Moses the Black. Men have marveled at the spiritual fight of Abba Moses the Black for he seized the kingdom of heaven by force, even as the Holy Gospel said on Matthew (11, 12). He was strong in body and a mighty man in all his deeds. He ate, drank, killed, fornicated and no man could stand up before him. It is said he could eat a whole sheep and drink a skinful of wine at a sitting.
Moses the Black was slave for men who worshipped the sun. He often lifted up his eyes towards the sun and said, “O sun, if you are God, talk with me” and in his heart he used to say, “O God Whom I know not, make me know you.”
One day, he heard some men saying that the monks of the desert of Scete Monastery knew God and even see him. So, he rose up and girded on his sword. He then went to the desert of Scete where he found Saint Abba Isidore the priest. When he saw him Moses the Black, he was afraid of him. Then, Moses said, “I am Moses the Black, and I have come to you that you may tell me about God and make me know Him.”
Soon after, Isidore took him to Abba Macarius, who admonished and taught him about religion. Later he baptized him with Christian baptism. Moses the Black then became a monk and lived in the desert. His monastic life was filled with fight which was greater than by many Saints. This time, enemy Satan warred upon him with his former sins of eating and drinking excess and committing fornication. He informed Abba Isidore about everything which came upon him in his fight with the Enemy and Abba Isidore comforted then taught him what to do.
In addition to his great fight when the holy elders were asleep, he used to go round their cells, and take their water-pots out of fill them with water and put them back in their cells for the water was a long way off. He continued his fight for many years. Satan was envious of him, and he smote him severely with a severe disease in his foot. So, he became very ill and lay down sick for many days. When he knew that Satan had smitten him, he increased his ascetic practices and spiritual fight until his body became dried up like wood, which has been scorched with fire. God saw his endurance, and healed him of his disease. He also removed the sickness and bouts of Satan; and the grace of the Holy Spirit descended upon him.
Then, five hundred brethren gathered together and came to him. He became their abbot, and they chose him to make him a priest. When they set him in the sanctuary, the Archbishop saw him and said elderly Monks, “Why have you brought this black man here? Take him away.” Hearing this, Moses went out rebuking himself saying, “They have treated you rightly, O black man, O your face is hideous.” After this the Archbishop called and laid his hand upon him, and made him a priest. Then, the Archbishop said to him, “Oh Moses, all of you within and out have become white.”
On another day, elderly Monks came to him, and he had no water with to serve. Abba Mosses the Black then go out and come several times whilst the elders saw him. After this a great rain filled the skins in their cells. The elderly Monks asked him, saying, “Why did you go out and come in many times?” He said to them, “I said to God, if you do not give me water to give your servile to drink, where am I to obtain water to give them to drink?” And in His mercy He sent us water.
At that time, Abba Moses went to Saint Abba Macarius with the elders to visit. Abba Macarius said to them, “Behold, I see one to who belong the crown of martyrdom among you.” Abba Moses answered and said to him, “Peradventure I am he, O my father for it is written, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). Soon after, the Barbarians came and Abba Moses said to the brethren, “Behold the Barbarians have come; among you who wish to flee, let him flee”; and they said to him, “O our father will you not flee?” He said to them, “Behold, I have been waiting for this day for many years because of the word of our Lord Jesus Christ who said, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
Right away, the Barbarians came and killed him. The seven brethren who did not wish to flee were also killed. But one of them hid himself behind a bed. He then saw the Angel of God standing with a crown in his hand waiting for him. So, he went out to the Barbarians, and they killed him. The body of Abba Moses the Black is found in Debre Badremos in the desert of Scete. Many miracles are made manifest through it. (Ethiopian Synaxarium Sene 24)
O our brethren! notice the power of love and repentance. It changed a man who was an infidel, a murderer, a fornicator and a thief to a Father, a Teacher, a Consoler, a Priest, one who laid down the Rule and Canon of the monks, and one who is mentioned at the altar in all the Churches.”
Today though, evilness is consider proper rather than goodness; It has been a while that the performance of bad is permitted than the deed of goodness. The true God is being defied whilst the father of lie has reign on earth, for the world has changed into full of haters, presences and falsehood that made it exhausting. It is thus better to realize in being within a pit.
It puts us to wandering whether we were dreaming or watching in real life the prentices around who has turned animals by the hatred for one another. It is better to ask ourselves if all this has happened by the rage of God. We have to know the recent plagues are due to our defilement of the commandments. (Exodus 11:1, Levites 26:21, Numbers 11:33, 14:37, 25:9)
Men loosing love for another, insulting one another by deviousness and committing murder, forgetting their Lord and cursing their personhood, led as animals, has increased because men love evilness.
People might think the good spiritual communication derives from worldly knowledge, financial capacity or the communal linkage or relation we form. However, more than anything, if there is not love, peace, unity, care some, sympathy and unison amongst people, the land will be filled with the blood of massacre killing of those in hatered. The accountable of this is only us but no other. A person without the love of God and love of neighbor is responsible for the social, national and universal chaos by the badness and evilness. Will also become the abode of evil for their lays no goodness. The reason for the loss of Church’s children and facing all the current barriers is the lack of love of God and love of neighbor.
Brethren! Love has much power and so we are told, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) It is needed to live by the love of God, for us not to apart from Him by evil deed and in another way to defeat worldliness by the power of His love.
Therefore, we are endowed to have absolute love of God, the Lord Who came down from His glory, wear flesh of mankind, walked and talked like us, accused as a criminal, suffered upon the cross and sacrificed His life for the eternity of us. It is vital to live by the real path, in kindness and goodness but not by deviousness, devoid of walking the wrong road.
Let us hate evil by the love of God!
Glory be to God!