Reciprocity Does Not Belong Here
Pay it forward. We’ve all heard this term and are familiar with the concept. You are helped in some way and, in turn, help someone else. Simple enough, right? The idea is not one of reciprocity, but one of a chain reaction – like the “wave” in the stands at a sporting event. One action sets off a sequence of actions.
God gave us the greatest gift of all time – our redemption – and all He asked in return is for us to pay His love forward. There is no check-off list of actions that we need to complete. There is no repayment schedule. To show God’s love to others is our end of the deal.
And do you know what the funny thing is about doing for others? It takes your focus off of you. It shifts your thought process from an inward one to an outward one. And as Martha Stewart would say – this, my friends, is a good thing.
When my dad moved to heaven a few years ago, my mama lost her husband of 53 years – her best friend since she was 14 – after a shocking diagnosis and an even more shockingly short illness. At that point, she had options. She could sit around and wait life out until she joined him in heaven. She could become bitter and resentful – of God, of others who still had what she’d lost, of other people’s happiness. But she did what she’d been doing for most of her life – taking the love that God had shown her and showering it upon others. During her time amidst deep grief, she chose to focus outward and serve others.
We told her to take a break, that it was okay to do less volunteering at church or at the local mission for a while. We told her everyone would understand that she needed time. But she set us straight pretty quickly about the fact that this was what she wanted to do – that glorifying God by serving others and sharing His love with them was the least she could do after all He’d done for her.
Romans 13:8 tells us, “If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.”
We have a whole, big world around us in which to practice this concept each and every day. Pay God’s love forward, folks.