By Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol
If you have read the life of Saint John the Merciful - which I urge you to read for the umpteenth time - you will see that when Saint John the Merciful was young (he was around 17-18 years old at the time) he saw a vision from God, he saw a princess who told him:
"If you conquer me, I will lead you to the King's throne. For I am the King's best daughter. And if you succeed and get me as your life partner, I will make you king too!"
And when he asked her: "Who are you?" she told him that she was empathy, mercy, compassion.
So the Saint entered this struggle, as a young child, and put himself to the test: "It appears this is how things are?" he said.
You remember he had some money; well he gave it away and he said, "Let's see, will God give it back to me?" A little time passed, a short period, and God returned it to him.
Then he gave his coat away. He was tested again for a while, but it was returned to him.
The Saints were the people who were convinced through faith that God is faithful to His promises and His words and that God does not lie. And when He says: "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done" (Proverbs 19:17), this man is indeed lending to God. And God is a good borrower, He will pay you back with interest. God will not leave you with nothing! And if for a moment He allows you to be tempted, to suffer even a little, it is so that you will have this reward certain from the side of God and that God will never leave you without recompense.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
