Am I not free?— 1 Corinthians 9:1
God persuades, He does not compel; for violence is foreign to Him.— Epistle to Diognetus vii, 4

What Shall We Offer?

In an Orthodox hymn used at Vespers on Christmas Eve, the Virgin Mary is seen as the highest and fullest offering that our humanity can make to the Creator:

When Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics remember the Feast of the Annunciation, we must bear in mind that there are actually two interrelated stories going on at the same time. The first and obviously more significant story depicts the Annunciation of the birth of our Lord Jesus to the Theotokos. The second story is sometimes easily overshadowed. This is understandable. The second story chronicles the annunciation and birth of St. John the Baptist, the Forerunner of our Lord. Both of these interconnected events offer us important insight into God's desire for us—a God who unceasingly desires that we grow in authentic relationship and dialogue with Him. Let us take a few minutes now and reflect upon the events which led to the birth of St. John, in the second story.

In the time of the ancient Church fathers, people asked many theological questions. One of them was, “Since God did not want Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, why did he plant it in the middle of Paradise in the first place?” It could seem as if God was setting a trap for the first human beings, something that would trip them up to make them get in trouble so they could be punished. Sometimes people make rules that work like this, but God never acts this way. His purposes are always good, never deceptive or malicious.