2Sandwich
The Two-Sandwich Concept
God’s absolute greatest desire is for us to be His children, and to be happy in His arms forever. As a matter of fact, the ultimate purpose of our lives on earth is to find Him, to know Him, to love Him and to willingly choose Him. He yearns for us so passionately, that He was willing to pay with the last drop of His blood to bring us back to Him, and to enjoy His presence in the resurrection of the coming age.
Sadly, not everybody knows this!
Many people go through the routine of life blindly, not knowing why they do things, but merely imitating what their peers are doing, and what the system dictates. Others are clueless as to why they have been created and are searching for answers, searching for a grain of truth in an ocean of new-age ideologies. Others still, in order to avoid having to face these difficult questions, try to keep themselves entertained or busy during their lives here on earth.
Aren’t we lucky to know the truth? Many of us have been born into Christian families. Aren’t we lucky to have been entrusted with the Orthodox faith? Aren’t we lucky to be on the right path, peacefully sailing towards our eternal home? Surely the Lord has a special love for us, right? … Wrong! This attitude implies that God loves us more than those who do not know Him – more than those who aren’t as “lucky” as we are. Any faithful earthly father has equal love for all his children; how much more than our perfect Heavenly Father!
I always ask myself: Why is it then that I’ve been chosen to know Jesus at a young age, whereas many others haven’t had that same privilege? Should I just consider myself “lucky” and pay no further attention to the matter?
To answer this question, let us imagine the following scenario together. You and I are stranded on a desert island, and have not found anything to eat in three days. We’re both on the verge of starvation. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, an unknown person walks by, and gives me two sandwiches in my hands, but he doesn’t give you anything. The right thing for me to do (if I have just a hint of decency) is for me to share - to give you one sandwich and to take the other for myself. These sandwiches can symbolize the material and spiritual riches I’ve received from God. I’ve been given so much, while my brother has been given so little. Sadly though, instead of sharing, I often keep the two sandwiches for myself, and say “thank You Lord so much for your blessings; please give to those who do not have, who aren’t as lucky as I am”.
We’ve been given so much in material blessings, and even more importantly, spiritual blessings. But with great blessings comes great responsibility (inspired by Spiderman Comic book’s famous line “with great power comes great responsibility”), and the words of our Lord Jesus when He says “for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required.” (Luke 12:48)
The Lord has chosen us –not because He loves us more than others, but He has rather entrusted us with an important task, a great mission: to share with His other children the Good News He has revealed to us. That is why I believe every Christian should be a missionary, whether by words or by being a life-changing example to others, whether to all nations or to his neighbors and coworkers. And remember, there’s nothing in the world that can make our Heavenly Father happier than to lead one of His children back into His loving arms.
