Kids in the Park

“When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” -Jesus Christ, Luke 14:12-14

Family’s Softball Game Has Higher Attendance Than Cubs Game

There’s an old joke about a couple who couldn’t have kids. They sought the help of their pastor who said he would fast and pray the last day of every month until they conceived. Shortly thereafter the husband of the couple took a job in another town, so the couple and the pastor lost touch.

One year of fasting in this fashion passed. Finally, the pastor ran into the woman who couldn’t have kids. He asked if anything happened and she shared they had a set of triplets, and not only that but she was twelve weeks pregnant, and not only that but her doctor said she might be pregnant with twins. The pastor was overjoyed. He asked where her husband was so he could find him and congratulate him. She said,

“He’s been gone for a week now, looking for you. He’s bringing you food!”

That story reminds me of my barber, Dan. Dan and his wife just seem to accumulate kids. But it hasn’t happened through procreation. He has two kids of his own (his biological children), and then beyond that, I’ve lost count–and I’m not kidding. He and his wife took in foster child after foster child. Along the way, they somehow wound up adopting a large assortment of those foster children. The stories he tells me about his family while I’m sitting in that barber’s chair are pretty crazy. Some of the kids they adopted have some serious issues.

What they’ve given to those kids though, those kids can never pay back.

How Jesus Loved People

Jesus loved people by giving what could never be repaid. He was (and is) royalty. He is God’s only begotten son. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. So what could anyone possibly make that would serve as repayment to Jesus? Repayment for what he did for us on the cross? The answer is nothing. (John 1:1-4)

We can never repay him.

Love Like Jesus

This idea of loving people who can’t repay is one of the most important concepts in our quest to love like Jesus. We sometimes think of the miracles Jesus performed, throw up our hands and say, “Compared to Christ, what could I ever do for anyone?” But the reality is there are plenty of people you can bless who can’t return the favor. There are people who would be thrilled just to have a few minutes of your attention, or a few dollars from your wallet, or a few morsels of your food.

Maybe you’re like me. Maybe most of the love you show people is toward those who can repay you. My lunch and dinner table is most often filled with friends and family who are likely to invite me back. And, quite often, when I give to someone who is likely to repay me, I’m proud of myself! I dwell on what I’ve given, and don’t give much thought to the probable payback.

But to love like Jesus, you and I need to seek out and give to the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and the kids. That’s how we’ll be blessed. As Jesus said, although they can’t repay us, we’ll be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

So to love like Jesus, find those who aren’t capable of reciprocating.

Find them and love them.

Give to them what they can never repay.

That’s what Jesus did.

You can too.

[You might also like: Hope for Those of Us Who Can’t Raise People From the Dead, and Love Like Jesus–For One of the Least ]