NOTES for Mat 6:18

Three times in the first half of the sixth chapter of Matthew's Gospel these words of the Savior are given. Let us notice that He says this about almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. There is a small book by Vladimir Solovyov, The Spiritual Foundations of Life, in which he writes about prayer, almsgiving, and fasting as the main components of a person's righteous life. Indeed, each person's "position" in the universe is determined by relationships along three "coordinate axes": connection with God, connection with other people, and connection with nature. Prayer, almsgiving, and fasting are expressions of proper relationships along these "axes."

Thus the words of Jesus thereby refer to the whole fullness of human life. He says that this life is carried out not so much visibly as "in secret," not so much in deeds as in the intentions of the heart, not so much in actions as in relationships. Accordingly, the visible reward of this world is not important for us, because it proves to be passing along with this world, but the reward from the invisible God is important, because this is eternal life.