Love and Serve Christ the King
by Taline Labib
After four years as a student at Clapham School, I truly believe it is a special place. My relationships with my teachers and peers, as well as our many classes and discussions, have all strengthened my faith. The education a Clapham student receives is exceptional. We are equipped to live a life of virtue, godliness, and truth. But what does that look like?
Clapham’s Portrait of a Graduate is a series of characteristics that highlight the virtues Clapham’s students should foster and leave Clapham with. Its purpose is to reflect on the values that give Clapham graduates the character necessary to be witnesses for Christ in the modern age. We live in a generation where truth is relative, education has become about ambition rather than formation, and beauty is discarded as pointless. The portrait highlights virtues such as compassion, conviction, leadership, and service that are necessary for adults who will proclaim Truth in the person of Jesus, be educated in virtue, and recognize true beauty in the world and restore it.
The most important goal of the Portrait of a Graduate is to love and serve Christ the King, proclaiming the gospel and serving one’s neighbor wherever God calls. This characteristic encompasses every other aspect of the Portrait and is the foundation for the life of discipleship that Clapham equips its students for. This essay will explore each part of this quality and how it manifests in a Clapham education and life after graduation.
To love and serve Christ the King is more than affection. It is an action and a transformative power that unites one with God. It is to acknowledge Him as Lord and King. Love in this sense produces action, which manifests in the form of service. The word serve comes from the Latin servus, which means “to guard or keep.” To serve Christ means to keep Him in your heart, and guard that love for Him as long as you live. Love and service must be like princes serving their father the king, out of love and respect, and not like a slave serving his master for fear of punishment. Love must come before service, or the service is in vain. C.S. Lewis writes about the transformative power of love in his book Mere Christianity, claiming, “Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self—in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.” The power of a love for Christ should not be taken for granted. When we give Him our whole selves, He gives us all of Himself in return. What better trade could we make? As Clapham students, we foster a relationship with Jesus and are given opportunities to serve, so that love and service become our lifestyle.
"Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self—in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”
Once a student develops a love for Jesus and His service, her life becomes a proclamation of His gospel. A Clapham graduate proclaims the gospel through more than just words. Christians are meant to proclaim the gospel through actions, character, and virtue. A quote often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi says, “Preach the Gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.” Proclaiming the gospel is not just about speaking. One of the goals of a Clapham education is to reflect Christ wherever we go. We proclaim the “Good News” through our actions and our character, not just through words. When you love and serve Christ, your life becomes a testimony to the good news. You cannot help but share the gospel, because the gospel is engrained in everything you are.
So how does a Clapham graduate get to that point? Clapham teaches its students to immerse themselves in Scripture and a relationship with God, who is the fullness of the gospel. By engaging in discussion, where students learn to make their faith their own, they can go into the world as witnesses to the truth. So, we increase in the knowledge of the gospel, and are fortified by our relationship with God, without which we could not preach.
John Piper wrote in his article “The Joy of Preaching the Gospel of God”: “We are the means by which God pours out His treasures on His children, and therefore Paul says, ‘We have this ministry, and we have the mercy of God, and we do not lose heart.’” Likewise, Piper wrote, “Here’s what Paul says takes place, that ‘God shines into dark places, and he gives the knowledge of Christ.’ We are taking place, we are participating, I should say, in a miracle, every time we preach.” Preaching the gospel not only spreads God’s love and light to a world that dwells in darkness but allows Christians to continually experience God’s goodness through sharing Him with others. What better way could we serve Him?
Another way to proclaim the gospel is through service to one’s neighbor. Serving our neighbor wherever God calls is our second highest calling as Christians. We are called to “love God with all our hearts, souls and minds, and to love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt. 22:37-39). Our love for Christ translates to love for our neighbor. When we love God, we are willing to serve Him through whoever and wherever He leads us. Sometimes, God will lead us where we are not expecting. But when we embrace our call to serve Him, we learn to trust Him completely, for we know that His plan for us is the right one. Soldiers do not question where their king leads them. They go where He wishes, knowing it is their duty to go wherever he guides. Our calling as Christians is the same.
One modern example of following God’s call in service is the ordination of Coptic Orthodox priests. The Coptic Orthodox Church emphasizes that priests are chosen by God. They do not go to school to become priests or have that plan in their mind. Their service of their neighbors, in this case, their congregation, is truly a calling. Fr. George Kaldas, a newly ordained Coptic Orthodox priest, when asked how to discern God’s calling, said, “When the Lord guides your life, there is no fear. He will lead you where you’re meant to be, and you won’t be afraid. There will only be peace.” Although not all of us will be called to serve our neighbors through priesthood or a similar ministry, the mindset is the same. We are soldiers of Christ our King. Serving those He has called us to love, whether a congregation, a struggling community, or—as students—our fellow classmates, is the simplest way to live out that duty.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
To put it another way, the aspects of this virtue flow from one to the other. We love Christ, and therefore we serve Him by serving our neighbors wherever He guides us. In doing so, we cannot help but proclaim the gospel. All this being said, some people might believe that while a love for Christ and His service is important, the ability to speak with compassion and conviction might be a more important virtue to focus on as a Clapham graduate, due to our society forgetting truth. Some might say a love for Christ and service can be taught by one’s church community, but school should focus on speaking well. While the ability to speak with compassion and conviction is important, love for Christ must be the foundation. As we continue to grow in love for Christ, and supplement that with service, the other virtues will follow. A Clapham graduate who can speak well but does not love Christ or serve Him is empty of real virtue. Jesus is the one from whom virtue flows. Without Him, our words, no matter how eloquently spoken, are meaningless. Moreover, a rhetor who does not reveal the truth is a sophist. How can we be true rhetors without having a relationship with the Truth Himself? On the other hand, loving and serving Christ overcomes any lack of eloquence. For example, Moses was known to have a speech impediment. When God called him to rescue Israel from Egypt, Moses questioned whether he was the right man for the job. However, he loved and served God, so he obeyed. Moses went on to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. So, no matter our weaknesses, when our foundation is love and service, God will use us for His purpose. As St. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Now, why does all this matter? Our world and our generation are in jeopardy. But Clapham students have the capacity to create positive change. We have the gift and privilege of a Clapham education. So, we must be good stewards of that gift. We are all called to the same purpose: to reflect the image of God. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to go to school in a place where I am continually learning to fulfill that purpose. At the base of every virtue I am growing in, there is a love for Christ. If I can read better than anyone or speak more eloquently than anyone, but have no love for Christ, then my words and knowledge mean nothing. If I participate in the body of Christ and read the Bible well, but have no love for Christ, it is all in vain. But if I start with a love for God my King, then I will be transformed. I will proclaim His name wherever I am, and serve those around me wherever He leads me, because His love is my shield. A Clapham graduate, above all else, is meant to be a person who loves and serves Christ. As the river flows from the ocean, so will every other virtue flow from this foundation.
Taline Labib is a junior at Clapham School. She is passionate about the Humanities, Theology, and Theatre. In her spare time, Taline enjoys drawing portraits, reading, and spending time at church with her Egyptian community.