UOC Primate: By letting devil rule over humans, God indicates it’s time to turn to Him

In his Sunday sermon, made on 11th of December in Kherson, His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine Onufriy reminded that the main target for a Christian is to reach the Heavenly Kingdom, according to the UOC Information and Education Department.

According to the Archpastor, the Lord allows sometimes that people suffer bodily or emotional torments in the earthly life so that they could earn the eternal life.

The Primate drew attention to the fact that the Satan acquires power over humans often at the moment when the human begins to do what he is told to by the devil.

“Dark forces wage a continual fight against a human being. They do their best to mislead him and make him commit a sin, noted His Beatitude. – But the Lord protects a human and prevents him to suffer more than he can bear. By letting the devil rule over humans for a while, God tries to indicate, often through physical trials, it’s high time for people to turn to God.” Metropolitan Onufriy remarked that “each human to a certain extent can experience the presence of dark forces in his life.” At this moment we have to realize we are on the wrong track.


“Today’s Gospel points to the fact that God is capable of everything, said His Beatitude. – Yet we must wish ourselves to get rid of the Satan’s tenets. When a human asks God for help, when he confesses to his sins, builds his earthly life with a memory of the future, then this human acts in the right way.”

“May God help us, dear brothers and sisters, to direct our lives toward eternity and our Lord, and remember about our high destination – to be citizens of the heaven. We must do everything to benefit out neighbors and glorify the Name of God on the earth. For a human being is a candle that should bring the light around himself so that those who watch this and who do not know God could glorify the Celestial Father. Each Christian must burn with eternal fire of love, self-giving love toward his neighbor and God. Life makes a human able to have eternal salvation in heaven in our Lord Jesus Christ,” concluded the Primate.