Freely Given and Received

Freely you have received; freely give.
- Matthew 10:8

In this particular passage, Jesus instructs his closest friends and followers about how to serve others in their day to day lives as they go about the world dong good. His core teaching then couldn’t be more relevant to us today. Jesus’s approach to serving others hinges on the monumental truth that we are loved, that we are blessed, that we are receivers.

Many of us need help calibrating how much to serve. We either serve too much (and get exhausted or feel resentful) or we serve too little (we get apathetic or selfish). Jesus’s remedy is simple - get in touch with how much you have received. There’s something motivating about really taking stock of all the gifts in your life - it helps you turn around and give to others.

Maybe today just start with physical things, like what parts of your body works well? That’s a gift that was freely given to you! And how about the air you breathe or the kindness of others or the color blue? You didn’t earn any of those things!

So what would it look like for you to give to others out of that sense of being filled up yourself with God’s goodness?

Practically speaking - take some time today to think about all the things that have been given to you that you didn’t earn; then, in that spirit of gratitude, think about a practical way to serve someone else today.