Repentance And Old Age

Εἰ τῶν κακῶν αἴτιόν ἐστι τὸ Θεῖον, πῶς ἐπὶ σὲ ὕει, καὶ ἥλιον ἀνατέλλει, καὶ μέχρι γήρως σε παρέτεινειν ἐνταῦθα, πολλῶν μὲν ἄξιον ὄντα θανάτων, καὶ πρὸ πλείονος χρόνου, δι' εὐσπλαγχίαν δὲ αὐτοῦ φυλαχθέντα εἰς τοῦτο ἡλικίας πρὸς μετάγνωσιν καὶ νῆψιν;   Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΜ', Κυρηνιῳ

If the Divine is the cause of evils, how is it that He who rains on you and makes the sun rise, has kept you here until old age, you worthy of many deaths, and through long length of time, by His shelter and protection, has brought you to this age for repentance and sober living? Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 240, to Cyrenius