The Life of Sacrifice
Meditation…
The Life of Sacrifice¹
All that God asks of you is your heart: “My son, give Me your heart.” And when He asks for your heart, He is asking for your love. And the proof of love is sacrifice.
From here, the spiritual life is a life of sacrifice—sacrifice of everything, even life itself. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
You must leave something for the sake of God, to prove your love for God. And your love is considered great according to how great the thing is that you leave for His sake.
Look at Abraham, the father of fathers. How did he begin his relationship with God? He began with the Lord saying to him: “Go out from your land, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.”
For the sake of God, he left his father’s house, his family, and his homeland. Did God stop at this? No. He even said to him in the land of his sojourning: “Take your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac… and offer him there as a burnt offering.” And Abraham obeyed and went to offer his son…
Moses also, for the sake of God, left princely rank, the royal palace, wealth, and authority… “considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.” And the apostles said to the Lord Christ: “We have left all and followed You.” Paul said: “For His sake I have lost all things, and I count them as refuse, that I may gain Christ.”
Sacrifice reaches its peak when you sacrifice everything: like the widow who gave the two mites, and the widow who gave all her food during the famine to Elijah the prophet… “Sell all you have, and come follow Me, bearing the cross.”
God Himself, in His love, gave us an example of sacrifice: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son…” “Greater love has no one than this: that one should lay down his life for his friends.” And the martyrs sacrificed their lives.
And you, O brother, what have you sacrificed for Christ, who for your sake emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, and died on the cross? I do not ask you now to sacrifice your life for His sake like the martyrs, but the most important thing you should leave for His sake is to leave your beloved sins.
An article by His Grace Bishop Shenouda, Bishop of Education – Al-Keraza Magazine, Second Year – Issue Seven – September 1966
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