Main news for 26 February 2026

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.