The 4th of July is a great day to celebrate our freedoms, culture, and family. I got to spend the day with my family. We had a big breakfast in the morning, headed to a Gwinnett Braves game in the evening. After a good game and spectacular fireworks, we made our way to the parking lot, got in the car, and began to look at the mess of traffic in front of us.
I'm sure all the cars were full of families, just like us, eager to get home/ice cream/dinner, but no one could just pull out, and fly from the parking lot. Realizing that, a chain of kindness began; we've all been there: one car lets you out, and then it's your responsibility, out of appreciation, to let another car out in front of you.
As we sat, I watched this process, and it made me think of Jesus' parable of forgiveness to the debtor:
Matthew 18:23-33
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’"
For you see, the first debtor was forgiven, but then didn't replicate that forgiveness with his servant. A similar idea is paying for the person behind you in the drive-thru, for after you pay extra, the person behind you will do the same, and eventually the person that needs it the most will receive a free meal. Even though most everyone still pays the same amount, it's an encouraging and inspiring surprise to receive someone else's kindness. There are ways every day for us to start a chain or pass on the kindness. Go for it!
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