Бесплатный фрагмент - The Mystery of Housebuilding

4 As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by

humans but chosen by God and precious to him —

5 you also, like living stones, are being built

into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,

offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The Holy Bible, 1 Peter 2:4—5

It was a pleasant spring evening. Out of the window, the voices of children, dogs, and birds were heard. For more than two weeks the weather was warm, the fresh, bright greens were fragrant; in the air, the ecstasy of nature and people was blended with the coming grace-filled time of the year.

However, Ivan Vasilyevich wanted silence. He got up and shut all the windows tightly. The room was filled with an oppressive silence, which could only exist in the house of a lonely person. Ivan sat down on the chair and closed his eyes. He could no longer resist or find enough strength to withstand the debilitating melancholy which chained his soul. The desperation and the inability to change the brutal reality physically broke the, once mighty, fifty-year-old man.

This owner of the quiet apartment did not ask for much. All that he wanted was to have the opportunity to worship God in the Assembly of Saints and to evangelize the unbelievers, who were dying in sin of unbelief. Was this too much? But even this was prohibited by the Soviet government. If their local church had been registered, the believers would have been allowed to congregate, but even then they would be forbidden to evangelize. Therefore, they had decided not to register.

In spite of all these prohibitions, the church continued to gather for seven years after their pastor, Michael, had been released from prison. God had always protected His children in miraculous ways! However, there were so many efforts devoted to this constant struggle.

God had always supplied all the lost strength supernaturally and Ivan Vasilyevich had never given up until this day, although, sometimes, he had hardly been able to hold back his tears of despair. He had carried on when his wife decided to live apart from him, after Ivan had refused to abandon the church. He had remained full of hope when his daughter married an unbeliever and prohibited him from seeing his grandson for several months. He did not give up when about six months ago, the doctor said, with sad eyes, “I advise you not to waste your time and strength on getting treatment, because medicine can’t help you. However, I have witnessed some cases of miraculous recoveries from such diseases, so let’s hope!” Even then he held on, until this day…

***

The day began quite well, nothing foretold anything bad. Driven by the morning chill, Ivan Vasilyevich reached the college, where he had been working for three months as a carpenter and plumber, after having lost his last job because of illness. Ivan had found this new job after much difficulty, even though there was hardly any open position. He was informed about this job after a friend’s recommendation. Ivan Vasilyevich felt well; it seemed he was in remission. Near the workroom, he was greeted by a household manager, who informed him about an unplanned staff meeting, which was going to be held in the hall. Ivan Vasilyevich had a lot to do, because of the May-Day demonstration. Then, after having a good lunch, he was among the first who arrived in the hall. After such a strenuous working week, Ivan finally calmed down and relaxed.

Fortunately, the problem in the church had been resolved without conflict. It was related to the fact that the May-Day demonstration fell on Sunday and the Liturgical meeting was planned to start later that day. Five years ago, when there was the same coincidence, the assembly meeting wasn’t postponed, so several sisters were fired. As for Ivan Vasilyevich, he had accepted Christ in 1984.