Today the Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of the Holy Spirit. The Epistle to the Ephesians reminds us that 'the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth' (v. 9), and calls us to 'be filled with the Spirit' (v. 18). The apostle Paul calls this new state of the human being 'light in the Lord'; the apostle John also turns to this image of light when he speaks of brotherly love among believers (1 John 2:10). In the spirit of love we are called to 'seek those who have gone astray' (Matt 18:10-14), to resolve problems in our relationships (Matt 18:15-18), and, finally, to receive God's grace in unanimous prayer in the name of Christ and in His presence, just as we were promised.

How can one know what is pleasing to God? How should one act so as not to be guilty before Him? These questions are not simple and, most importantly, far from idle, for very much in our life depends on the practical answer to them. In the letter to the Ephesians the apostle Paul uses a remarkable verb, translated into Russian as "test." It really does mean "to test, check, find out the truth about something." This verb was used when checking recruits' fitness for military service; in those times there was no medical commission, and they checked the ability to throw a spear and the like. This means the apostle calls us to act as children of light, checking our actions "for fitness," checking whether they will be pleasing before the face of the Almighty.

In the Greek text all these words form one sentence, and this is important. A test must be based on criteria, and therefore the apostle names the main criterion: the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Thus, what is pleasing to God is what can be called the fruits of the action of the Holy Spirit in our life. Chiefly this is all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Perhaps by these closely related words the apostle is trying to convey something that cannot fit into words. Modern language designates this with the rather vague term "good." Precisely what we call good, its growth and therefore the diminishing of evil, becomes for the apostle Paul the criterion of whether our actions and life itself are pleasing to God.

The words of the apostle Paul may seem strange. Can a person imitate God, the Almighty, All-Knowing One who surpasses every human understanding? God, who created heaven and earth? But in the second verse the apostle Paul explains that he is speaking about another kind of imitation.

Would a son who wants to be like his father copy the color of his eyes, his height, his shoe size - inborn qualities that belong to his father's nature? Of course not: he would try to imitate his character, his way of thinking and acting, the way his father builds his relationships with other people...

So it is with our imitation of God: the apostle calls us to love others as our Heavenly Father loves us. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, in His earthly self-emptying, says that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father - but not because He imitates His invisibility or boundlessness. The main thing in God is love, and it is precisely in this that we can become like Him as beloved children, as His beloved Son does.