This our response should be: not merely fulfilling, but surpassing ourselves.
We are responding properly to God's goodness when we serve him, when we accept his will and let him use us as instruments for working all the wonders he wants to perform in the world. “Free man, subject yourself to a voluntary servitude, so that Jesus won't have to say of you what we are told he said of others to St Teresa: ‘Teresa, I was willing... but men were not.’"
All that God has done and continues to do for us has this characteristic of abundance; it is an overflowing of his grace. Think of his Incarnation, or the way he constantly forgives our sins, or his continual presence in the Eucharist... Faced with all this goodness, we are like that servant in the parable, the debtor who could not pay. Ours is a debt that can never be repaid. Whatever we do, even though it might seem very great, is really very little.
“Our generosity, even if it were total, would be very little compared to the infinite and loving generosity of the God-Man, who offered himself in sacrifice to save us, giving even the last drop of his blood, the last breath in his body. Therefore, we must also try to give ourselves unstintingly, for the love of God, even though there are bound to be difficulties. That is why in carrying out our work, we should not try merely to fulfill, but to love, which always means surpassing themselves gladly in duty and sacrifice."
The waiters in that house at Cana in Galilee give us with example of how to give ourselves completely. “Fill the jars with water," our Lord told them. “And they filled them up to the brim," up to the very top. Let us not limit ourselves to doing the bare minimum. There can be no half-measures in our commitment. “For a person who wants to live a life of Love with a capital L, half-measures are feeble, they are miserly, they are mean and calculating. I will give you a piece of advice. When Love knocks at your door, don't throw up barriers or hold back your heart. Never be afraid of going too far. If we are generous to God, it will lead us to be generous to those around us, putting our heart into all that we do."
We need to give ourselves generously. God looks for our complete self-giving, in response to the love and trust he has shown us. Then we will never impose limits on his generosity. We are the water; the wine is the conversion of many. Jesus will never have to give less wine, because we had provided less water.
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