Pay It Forward.

“Pay it forward” is a phrase that is related to doing good things for other people. If someone first does something nice for you, rather than paying them back you can be told to “pay it forward.” This means to find someone else to bless with a kind act. This can be very simple or it can be quite extravagant. In any case the common thread is doing nice for a stranger, requesting nothing in return. The hope is that the chain of kindnesses paid forward will continue on far past any circle of immediate friends.

One online dictionary definition of ‘pay it forward’ is, “respond to a person's kindness to oneself by being kind to someone else.” Wikipedia states: “Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying it to others instead of to the original benefactor. The concept is old, but the phrase may have been coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1916 book In the Garden of Delight.” A movie by this title was released in 2000. It was about a young boy who began this concept as a school project. The impact of this attitude of paying it forward was contagious and spread to impact an entire community and beyond.

As Wikipedia states, the concept is very old. Paying it forward is actually a biblical concept. God’s loving acts toward us began before time itself. “But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot. It is true that He was chosen and foreordained (destined and foreknown for it) before the foundation of the world...” (1 Peter 1:19-20a AMP) The true meaning of love is also made know by an act of Christ blessing us years before our birth. “But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.” (Romans 5:8 AMP)

We could never pay back God for all that He has done for us. Any feeble attempts would merely be our religious acts of good works. “He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy.”  (Titus 3:5a AMP) He does not want any payback. We simply receive the love that God has given through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We then spend our lives living as Jesus did; living our lives sharing the love with which He first loved us. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 AMP)  

God desires that we show His love to others. “I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.” (John 13:34 AMP) We can do this by following the example set in the daily life of Jesus. “…how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38b AMP) We now live doing good for others.

We have been shown compassion so we can pay forward compassion. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement), Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 AMP) We have been given undeserved forgiveness so we must pay forward undeserved forgiveness. “And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 AMP) We must love others.

No ulterior motives, but simply a heart full of appreciation for all that has been given us, must be our motivation. Gratefulness to God can be voiced to Him and displayed by paying His love forward to everyone we come in contact with.

Show your love and gratitude to God by paying forward some of His great love and kindness.