Today's Encouragement

Love! Pay It Forward

Calvonia Radford

“Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” Ephesians 5:2 (NLT)

Have you ever approached a drive-thru window prepared to pay for your order, only to be told the customer before you already paid your bill?


It is a wonderful experience to be the recipient of an unexpected blessing. Once the initial shock ends, your momentary joy is met with a request: “Would you like to pay it forward, ma’am?”

Pay It Forward chains are uncommon, but the customers at Starbucks in Newington, Connecticut, kept their random act of kindness going for days.

It started Christmas Eve morning, Tuesday, December 24, 2013. The first customer paid for her drink and left the money for the customer next in line. One customer after the next, some prompted and others not, paid it forward perpetually for four days.

This Pay It Forward chain came to an end on Saturday, December 28, around 6 p.m., 1,468 customers later.

Over 2,000 years ago, God Paid It Forward! (John 3:16).

He knew we couldn’t afford the sin-debt we owed, so He sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay our bill. Jesus continued the chain by giving up His life as an offering for our sin.

Here comes the follow-up question. Actually, it is not a question, but more of a command:

Pay It Forward!

“Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God” (Ephesians 5:2).

In the original Greek, this verse commands us to walk in love. The word “walk” suggests a movement, an action. A continual pace of lifting and setting down each foot until you get from point A to point B and beyond.

Why are we called to walk in love, or shall I say walk around loving? We walk in love because it has already been done for us. God gave, followed by Jesus giving, and now it is our turn.

For a believer in Christ, “Paying It Forward” is not a question — it is a way of life. God loved us until it hurt. And Jesus’ love was demonstrated in a death penalty He did not earn. How can we experience the love God paid forward and fail to pass it on?

Those customers in Connecticut didn’t set out to make the news or break a record. They received, and they gave; it’s that simple. Now it’s our turn.