This episode explores the difficulty of truly loving people in Christian service instead of merely manipulating or impressing them. Relating to people with a pure heart is a challenge for everyone; however, in different faith traditions, it takes on different forms. True Orthodoxy leads us to see all others as united to each of us, and we are challenged to practice a more genuine, selfless love for others.

Weddings are a sensitive time for all who are involved. Orthodox Christians often face unique challenges in relating to non-Orthodox weddings in a Godly manner, as they long to see sanctity emphasized in this monumental life event. However, it can be a significant point of contact with others. Jeff recounts a recent wedding experience, and the tensions involved in relating to others from an Orthodox perspective.

The sacrament of marriage in our modern culture is almost a lost art. This two-part series tackles the challenge of focusing on the Godly aspects of love, weddings, and marriage outside of the Orthodox Church. Part one emphasizes romance as a gift from God, and introduces the concept that marriage must go beyond a mere lifelong commitment to enter the realm of true Orthodoxy.

Chrismations normally follow a long, slow pilgrimage toward Orthodoxy. Loving believers who want to see spiritual growth in family members or friends also wait, planting spiritual seeds and praying. The great saints have learned to wait for good things, and so must we. Jeff contemplates the challenges and rewards of waiting in Orthodoxy.

Sadness and struggle are often “out of place” in modern Christianity. Jeff explains that Godly sorrow is embraced on the journey toward true Orthodoxy, where we find that a “sad face is good for the heart.”

Jeff describes his final jump into Orthodoxy and what God used to bring him there. He also explores how we need to give up trying to be a “somebody” and learn instead to become a “nobody."

Jeff describes how encounters with Proto-presbyter Joseph Kreta, on both sides of the veil of death, help him and his fellow parishioners embrace the loving fellowship shared in the “communion of the saints.”

C. S. Lewis’s popularity and insights are a testimony to how people are longing for magic and mystery within the material world. Jeff explores how the Orthodox faith integrates the spiritual and physical realms into one cohesive experience and is thus the gateway to fulfilling those desires.

What do Bob Marley and the Protestant missions world have in common? What does this have to do with Orthodoxy? The journey continues with more stories and insights, focusing on the desire for natural beauty in interacting with God and people.

In this second episode, the journey continues. After meditating on the “sacred beginning” introduced in episode one, as well as on sacraments outside of the Orthodox Church, Jeff describes the darker side of the “do it yourself” Western Christian mindset. This episode begins the process of contrasting some of the modern “holes” in the Christian world with the treasures of the ancient faith.