Unrequited

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Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

What It Is Speaking to Me

Have you ever been a drive-thru angel? I don't know if that is the real term, I might have just made it up. Have you ever paid for the food of the person behind you in a drive-thru line? Have you ever had your food paid for by the person in front of you?

It has happened to me several times. In some cases, it turns out the person in front of me was someone I knew, and I have paid for people behind me for the same reason. But it has happened a few times when the person in front or behind was a complete stranger. It was a perfect, random act of unrequitable kindness.

Drive-thru angels are a 21st-century application of this verse. Certainly not the most important application we can make, but a good example. How often do we do things because we expect them to be noticed or reciprocated? It doesn't make the act less good in and of itself, but those actions don't exemplify what Jesus is saying here. There is a great reward for kindness shown to the unthankful and evil, who are not usually among my list of people I want to bless. In the case of the drive-thru, I don't know whether the person behind me is good or evil, I am blissfully ignorant of the state of their heart. But Jesus calls us even higher, to bless and show kindness to those who are obviously our enemies. Why? Because that is what He did for us. How many lives are changed because of these acts?

It is exciting to think about unrequited acts of kindness, the power they have, and what eternal reward we will see when we get to heaven.

I want to close with one extra thought: unrequited acts of goodness are contagious. In fact, in December of 2020, a Dairy Queen in Minnesota had 900 cars in a row over two days paying for the person behind them, just because one car started it. It made national news. My goodness, that is a lot of goodness.

What Is It Saying to You?

What is an act of unrequited goodness you have done?

When is the last time you did one?

What Are We Going to Do About It?

Do a kindness today for someone who will not, or cannot, ever repay or acknowledge it.