He who wholeheartedly hates and renounces ‘the desire of the fallen self, the desire of the eyes, and the false pretensions of this life’ (1 John 2:16)–that whole ‘world of iniquity’ (James 4:4)–has crucified the world to himself and himself to the world: he has destroyed in his flesh the enmity between God and his soul, and has made peace between the two (Ephesians 2:15). For he who has died to these things through effacing the will of the flesh has reconciled himself to God.
He has eradicated the enmity of this world by obliterating sensual pleasure through a life crucified to the world, and has embraced friendship with Jesus. He is no longer God’s enemy because of his love for the world, but is a friend of God, crucified to the world and able to say, ‘The world is crucified to me, and I to the world’ (Galatians 6:14).
~Nikitas Stithatos
Prayerful Life 