How much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! (Rom. 5:15)
A POPULAR SONG tells the story of Joe and his wife who didn’t have enough money to pay their bills. One night Joe stopped to help a woman with a flat tire. He wouldn’t accept payment but told her not to let the chain of love end with her. When the woman stopped at a restaurant to eat, she gave the waitress a hundred-dollar bill to pay, then purposely left without her change. She didn’t know the waitress was Joe’s wife.
We’ve all heard the stories of people going through a drive thru paying for the car behind them or someone sending someone on a mission trip because they had been the recipient of help when they needed it. One person can start a domino effect of good deeds by paying it forward for the next one.
When Adam sinned, the judgment handed down affected all humankind. The curse of sin was paid forward to all future generations. But Christ came and gave the ultimate gift to those who accept His offer of salvation—one gift from one man that overflows to the entire world.
If each individual tells another the salvation story, it can bring new life to those separated in sin, who in turn can share Christ with someone else. By paying forward the story of Christ and the cross, we can keep the chain of love going.
Pay it forward. Tell someone else the story of Christ.
Vickie Phelps is a retired bookseller who enjoys reading and collecting books. She also plays the organ for her church and publishes the church bulletin.
