Be a Blessing
Recently while I was feeling under the weather Laura drove through Chick-Fi-A to grab us a bite to eat. (Is there anything that Chick-Fil-A cannot cure?) When she drove up to the window after placing her order the cashier said, “Your meal was paid for by the person in front of you!” Laura said, “Well that was very kind. I’ll pay for the meal of the person behind me.” The cashier said, “You make the seventh person in a row to buy the meal of the next person in line!”
That seems to me like the definition of paying it forward. We have no idea how many cars after Laura did the same thing. What we do know is the when you bless someone’s life it can become contagious.
On another occasion recently we were eating at Chili’s with a friend of ours who was visiting from out of town. We saw a family from church and went over to their table to visit for a minute. They were delightful.
When we were ready to leave after our meal the waiter said, “That family sitting across from you paid for your meal!” We were overwhelmed with gratitude.
It really isn’t about money and free meals, but it is about blessing the lives of others. Think for a minute about all that is accomplished when we bless someone’s life.
When we bless others we are following the example of Christ. It was said of our Lord, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
Everywhere Jesus went He was in the blessing business. He blessed the lives of the rich & the poor, of the big & the small, of the educated & uneducated. Jesus blessed the lives of everyone he met.
When we bless others we bring joy to their lives. Random acts of kindness will bring great joy to those who receive the blessing. Try it a try. Send a note of encouragement, buy someone a meal, make a visit or a phone call.
What you will quickly find is that it doesn’t just bring joy to the life of the recipient of the blessing, it also brings great joy to the giver. No wonder Jesus said, “...It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
When we bless others we are storing up treasures in Heaven. When we bless the lives of others we are fulfilling the great admonition of Jesus to store for ourselves treasures in Heaven. (Matthew 6:19-20)
When we bless others we cause others to want to be a blessing. As we said in the beginning of this article, being a blessing to others can be contagious. Someone had to pay the first person’s meal in that line at Chick-Fil-A.
Once that first person stepped out and performed an act of blessing it started a chain reaction that went on for who knows how long. When you bless someone’s life you might just be the one who turns a life around and causes others to be a blessing.
When we bless others we share the Image of Christ. By blessing the lives of others we show them Jesus. It is our duty to strive to develop the mind of Christ. (Philippians 2:5) We have been called to let our lights shine before men so that they might glorify God. (Matthew 5:14-16)
Our world is filled with people who take from others, people who perform acts of injustice, people who are cruel, unkind, and uncaring. What our worlds desperately needs is to see people who will bless lives, people who will be more like Jesus.
Dear Father, help us to do everything we possibly can to bless the lives of everyone around us. Help us to show Jesus to the people we meet today. Help us, dear God to bless others through our actions as well as our attitudes. In the Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.