Lords Helpers

Posts Tagged ‘not expecting anything in return’

Luke 6:30-35 

 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Christians are supposed to give to others not expecting to be paid back. This means we are to give money, not loan money, to others. We are supposed to give of our time and ourselves to help others and not expect others to give back by helping us.

Those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior do that. They lend money – then expect to be paid back, usually with usury (interest). As Christians, we are to give it – not lend it. A loan is expected to be repaid. It means that you gave expecting a person to repay you that loan by a certain date.

A gift is something that is given to someone. The gift is offered and the person receiving the gift accepts it. The person that gave the gift should not expect that gift back – and should not expect payment for that gift. If that is the case, it no longer becomes a gift. It becomes a purchase.

Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is a gift that was given to us. He purchased our lives because He gave His life expecting us to accept Him as payment for our sins. He is our gift. Our job is to reach out and take that gift. We do not have to pay for the Gift (Jesus). If we did, He would no longer be our Gift – He would be a purchase. He freely gave us the gift of His life. We cannot do anything to repay Him for that gift. He completed the transaction with His death on the cross. The only thing He expects us to do is accept the Gift!

That is the same way we are to be with others when we give something to them. We are to only expect them to accept the gift, no strings attached. We are not to expect anything else in return for what we give to them.

Until next time,
Linda Sedrick Pearson