I’ve never experienced a “pay it forward” moment before that night. Plenty of people have helped me and I help others, but I’ve never had someone pick up the ticket at a restaurant and tell us our bill was already covered, then instruct us to pay it forward.

My friends and I looked at each other and wondered about the validity of the gift before accepting it for what it was. Not sure who that reflected on more, us or the culture we live in. Pretty sure it was us.

I think we often do the same with God. He offers gifts to us freely and the best we can do is question his motives. He doesn’t even ask us to pay it forward. He just gives. I want to have a heart of gratitude, not doubt, and accept His gifts, not reject them. A heart full of gratitude shares more easily than one full of doubt. And unlike the pay it forward movement, in God’s economy, strings should never be a part of our helping others.

Whether sharing spiritual blessings or the blessings of our physical life, we do well to remember that God is the giver of all good things and hold on loosely to those things, prepared to help just as we have been helped.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Matt. 10:5-8 NIV

Where have you applied this principle in your own life? Going forward, where could you apply it?