Begin or Die on the Road

The Refusal of Delay and the Violence of Undivided Faith

“Death in battle for God’s sake is better than a shameful and sluggish life.”

There is always a lion for the man who does not want to begin.

Always a reason. Always a danger. Always a wiser moment to wait for. And so he remains on the road his entire life. Careful. Thoughtful. Unbloodied. Unchanged.

St. Isaac is merciless here. Much wisdom can damn a soul. Not the wisdom that fears God, but the kind that calculates and delays obedience. The man who watches the winds never sows. The man who weighs every risk never enters the fight.

The simple man jumps into the water.

He does not negotiate with fear. He does not preserve his body. He burns with first ardor and moves. This is what we lack. Not knowledge. Fire.

The way is filled with blood. Blood means loss. Blood means humiliation. Blood means the death of the life you hoped to keep. If you wish to begin, hold your death in your mind. Remember the day after your burial. Let eternity crush your attachment to this present age. Hope in this life weakens the soul.

Do not begin with a divided heart. Divided labor exhausts and yields nothing. God does not give grace in proportion to our techniques but according to the ardor of love and the boldness of faith. “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.”

Some beat their heads in repentance. Some drown in prostrations. Some burn in psalmody. Some are seized into silence. There are many forms. But all give themselves without reserve.

Then comes the ruin.

One tastes and turns back.

One tastes a little and grows proud.

One is enslaved by ambition.

One by vainglory.

One by greed.

One by habit.

One begins well and does not endure.

These are the lions. Not in the street. In the heart.

The one who stands firm does not turn back until he receives the pearl. He begins again and again. He refuses slackness. He does not wait for ideal conditions. He does not demand guarantees.

Always begin.

If the heart is pure from passion and doubt, God Himself raises the soul. Not because it was clever. Not because it was impressive. But because it believed and stepped onto the blood-stained road without bargaining.

Begin.

Or die still talking about the journey.