WEDNESDAY: SERVING WITHOUT ANY EXPECTATION OF RETURN
KEY PASSAGE
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
DEVOTIONAL
Think of the phrase, “return the favor.” There is an idea in our culture of doing someone a favor in expectation of a return. The definition of “favor” is an “act of kindness beyond what is due or usual.” A favor is something beyond what is earned or deserved, yet we often think that it should be repaid. This points to a transactional tendency in our nature. Jesus points us to a different way of thinking.
In Luke 14:12-14 Jesus speaks to a prominent Pharisee who hosts a dinner to which only the most wealthy and respected inner-circle of people were invited. Imagine Jesus’ sorrow as he looked around the table and thought of all of the people who were not welcome there. Think of his sorrow as he considered the host’s motives for inviting his guests. Jesus tells the Pharisee to see things from an eternal perspective.
Sure, friends, family, rich neighbors, and those in the same social circle as you will feel obliged to repay you for your hospitality in this life. But if you show hospitality to those who have no means to pay you back and simply host people out of kindness, expecting nothing in return, you will be repaid with an eternal reward.
God showed us favor by sending His son to pay for our sins. There is no way to return the favor. He gave to us freely not because we were worthy, deserving, or in any position to do anything in return. As we learn to serve one another, we must keep a heavenly perspective. There is a great banquet to which everyone is invited: rich, poor, able-bodied, disabled, influential, forgotten. Everyone has a seat at the table. What would your life look like if you saw things this way?
CHALLENGE
Jesus tells us to serve people who don’t expect it, expecting nothing in return.
Make a list of people who you spend most of your time with. Who do you feel you owe something to? Who do you feel owes something to you?
Pray and ask God to help you see things like He does.
Ask Him for an opportunity to expand your circle and to bless someone you wouldn’t expect to repay you.