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The Sunflower Conforming the Will of Man to the Will of God (Paperback)

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— About the Book —

May our love for the Sun, the will of God, be as strong as the sunflower’s, so that even in days of hardship and sorrow we will continue to sail unerringly along the sea of life, following the directions of the barometer and compass of God’s will that leads us to the safe haven of eternity. —St John of Tobolsk 

This is a thoroughly practical manual of the spiritual life that focuses on the central goal of every Christian: discerning the will of God and struggling to mold our life to it, just as Christ “humbled Himself and became obedient” (Philippians 2:8).

Saint John addresses fundamental questions: Why should we care about God’s will ? What are the benefits in following His will? How do we avoid common obstacles to living in accordance with His will? The reader will find practical and eternal wisdom running through these writings that discuss the perennial questions of why a good God permits evil. This is the first English edition of St John’s text, edited and abbreviated for the contemporary reader.

St John Maximovitch (1651-1715) was Metropolitan of Tobolsk and all Siberia. He served as a missionary in Siberia and was known for his unpretentiousness and his generosity to the poor. His veneration among the people grew after his repose and he was glorified by the Russian Church in 1916, becoming the last canonized saint of the pre-revolutionary period. He is best known today as the namesake and ancestor of the great 20th-century saint of the Russian diaspora, St John of Shanghai and San Francisco.

— Contents —

    Editor’s Preface
     
Part I    
  1 Discerning the Will of God and Conforming to It
  2 Why Does God Allow Evil?
  3 How to Recognize God’s Will in His Inscrutable Judgments
  4 How to Determine God’s Will in All Events and Actions
  5 How God’s Will Is Revealed in Jesus Christ, and How We Can Conform Ourselves to It
Part II    
  6 On Completely Committing One’s Life, Will, and Works to the Will of God
  7 How Can Human Will Become Pleasing and Worthy of Union with God’s Will?
  8 How Human Will Can Conform to Divine Will in Various Everyday Circumstances
  9 On the Meaning and Significance of the Prayer “Thy Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven,” and with What Spiritual Disposition One Must Utter These Words
  10 Which Signs Indicate That Our Will Agrees with God’s Will?
Part III    
  11 The Peace of Soul That Comes from Following God’s Will
  12 Is It Possible to Avoid Sorrow Entirely?
  13 Fashioning One’s Will to God’s Is a Pleasing Sacrifice to God
  14 Human Perfection Is Contingent on the Coordination between One’s Desires and Actions and God’s Will as Revealed in the Law or in One’s Own Life
  15 Conforming the Human Will with the Will of God Is the Greatest Good in Life
  16 The Agreement of the Human Will with the Divine Is Truly Heaven on Earth, the Only Genuine Blessedness in Life
Part IV    
  17 What Prevents Us from Living According to God’s Will
  18 The Dangers of Irrational, Unrestrained, and Deeply Rooted Self-Will
  19 How Our Will Can Become Obedient to the Will of God in All Things, Even in That Which We Do Not Desire
  20 An Instructive Example for People Who Refuse to Follow God’s Direction
  21 Factors That Incline Us to Disobey God
  22 We Must Be Ready to Reject Ourselves and Submit Our Will to God Both during Times of Trouble and in the Hour of Our Death
Part V    
  23 The Agreement between Human and Divine Will Cannot Occur without Complete Trust in God
  24 The Essence of Trust in God
  25 By What Means We Can Confirm within Ourselves a Firm Trust in God, Especially in Times of Trouble?
  26 How the Saints Trusted God
  27 The Many and Diverse Gifts That God Gives to Those Who Trust in Him
  28 Trust in God Weakens and Dies without Acknowledgment of His Providence
  29 How Greatly God Provides for All Our Needs in Life
  30 God’s Providence for the Righteous
  31 God’s Providence for Friends and Enemies
  32 Concerning Widespread Doubt or Weak Faith in God
  33 Knowledge of God’s Providence Leads to Greater Trust in God, and This Trust Gives Birth to Agreement with God and His Holy Will
     
    Appendix: A Short Biography of the author of The Sunflower, St John Maximovich, Archbishop of Chernigov and Metropolitan of Tobolsk
     
    Notes
     
    Subject Index
     
    Scripture Index

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