Our Orthodox Christian faith is sometimes compared to a treasure chest, filled with valuable objects.  It is a total package, not a “smorgasbord” where we can pick and choose what we like and what we don’t.  But what happens if we decide that one of the jewels in the chest is not to our liking?  Maybe we don’t like the color of the amethyst or the clarity of the diamond?  We can remove those items from the treasure but by doing so we diminish the treasure’s overall value. 

To those in the world who still tragically remain skeptical to the importance of icons and imagery in the Church, I often ask the question: “Is our faith in God helped or hindered by iconography in the Church? When we pray in front of an image of our savior, illuminated in the dark by candle-light and incense, is it harder or easier for us to focus on prayer and communion with our Lord?”

“Who are you, O Man, to talk back to God?”

Is God the one portrayed in the “He Get’s Us” ads now being popularized on television and the internet? Or is God a wrathful judge who has come to punish sinners?

When we enter into the recesses of our own heart and reflect upon the times we have uttered words of madness, it is unnerving.  May our Lord have mercy on us!