As these words on your phone/computer screen glare back at you while ten other open tabs impatiently await your attention, there are a hundred other things on your mind. And I am not just referring to school-related responsibilities. In addition to prioritizing your studies, you may be contemplating how to tell your parents you want to be pre-nothing; asking yourself why you pay thousands of dollars in tuition money to only park on one campus; and deciding whether or not Dunkin’s veggie cream cheese counts as being vegan (it doesn’t). As young adults, we are learning to navigate different people and experiences, perhaps feeling as though we are in a revolving state of sacrifice. Every day is a seemingly failed attempt at us putting on Christ; our mismatched socks do not cover feet of peace, our hoodies have little resemblance to breastplates of righteousness, and our laptops are no shields of faith (Ephesians 6:10-18). However, as Orthodox Christians we are expected to be on-call, prepared to meet any and all circumstances with selflessness and compassion no matter what we have going on in our personal lives. Yet it begs the question, how can we practice sacrificial love when we are drawing from half empty glasses? What do we do when we feel like we have nothing more of ourselves to give?
We often refer to God as the Giver of Life— the One who has brought us from nonexistence into existence and from darkness into light. As Christians of the Coptic Orthodox Church, God has graced us with both physical and everlasting spiritual life through the sacrament of Baptism. This sacrament was made possible by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, born out of God’s love for mankind (John 3:16). Only in recognizing this reality can we begin to understand how foundational sacrifice is to our Christian walk.
Next, we must reflect upon our eagerness to sacrifice. And no, forgoing a Starbucks run because you are running late to class is not within the scope of our discussion. More accurately, are we giving God our best fruits, entrusting Him with the entirety of our hearts, minds, and bodies? As recorded in all four gospels, the evangelists recount the story of Christ miraculously feeding the five thousand. Notice, the disciples did not merely present Christ with the predicament that He was clearly already aware of; rather, they gave Him all that they had, five loaves and two fish. Only after receiving their pure, simple offering did Christ bless their efforts. God is asking for you, and you are more than enough; He is not asking you to give from what you do not have. Despite this fact, if our sacrificing is little and reluctant, we can expect the same from God for “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
So, we understand what to do and why we do it yet practicing sacrificial love in our day-to-day life is so much more difficult. Because likely you are already doing your best to give God your all, but there are only so many days in a week and hours in a day. Realistically you are not choosing between Starbucks and class; instead, it’s between consoling a distressed friend and sleeping, attending a spiritual day and studying, forgiving and keeping a grudge, etc. These are the tough decisions that weigh on our hearts and make the idea of wearing the name of “Christian” feel daunting. Nonetheless, as we enter the holy season of Lent, let us not forget our spiritual remedies. When we fast, pray, and tithe, we are asking God to supplement what we are deficient in, whether that be time, energy, patience, or love. When you feel as though your all is not good enough, lean on your Father who is awaiting your call! “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Your glass can be full if you only put it under the ever-running faucet that is God’s love and grace; He, the Immeasurable, is ready to overflow not only into your life but onto others through you. This is our calling and birthright, that we allow Christ to make us fishers of men, showing others the beauty of Christianity by living out its essence ourselves (Mark 1:17). With that said, “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).