April 22, 2021 - The occasion might be a family dinner, a time for special memories. Perhaps it is Thanksgiving, Christmas, a birthday, or anniversary or just the weekly Sunday dinner. How often on those occasions have we heard someone say, “pass the potatoes please?” You see, passing the serving dish of food around the table is the customary way that everyone fills their plate. However, this serving method “bogs down” when someone forgets to “pass it on.” Sometimes someone will park a serving dish by their own plate. At other times, folks will pass the dish back to the person who gave it to them. For this to work, everyone has to “pass it on.”Thinking about that brought a passage of scripture found in Matthew chapter ten and verse 8 to my mind. In that passage, Jesus tells his disciples, “freely ye have received, freely give.” He is telling them to go out and heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons. We often see many who try and make a material application of this passage.
Yet, what about the love that God has shown to us? God loved us so much that he gave his only Son, Jesus, to redeem the world from sin. Jesus died for us, he loved us that much. Jesus tells us to love one another as he has loved us. Jesus also tells us that by our love for each other the world will know that we are his disciples. So, let’s make sure we pass it on. We have freely received the love of God, let’s freely give love to others. We need to make sure we pass the love, just like we would pass the potatoes.
It’s something to think about … tbp
Center Church of Christ
110 Hurst Street, Center, Texas
