Pay It Forward

"Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and the deepest reach in his or her search for self-fulfillment."

Pay it forward. Simple as that. I learned in church today that if you see a need it's your job to take care of it. Everyone has a story, issue, and need. However, when was the last time we put aside our problems to help others. Today, I got the opportunity to attend one of my friend's church. All day I debated whether or not I should attend that night's service. I had already been to my church that morning and due to family issues I was having an awful day. While I was deciding if I should go my youth pastor told a story about Jesus that made my choice clear. Jesus had the compassion to put his needs aside at all times. There is a popular Bible story in Matthew 14:13 called Jesus feeds the five thousand. The background info is that right before Jesus performed this miracle His cousin John was beheaded. Now if one of my family members had just died and thousands of people were following me I would most likely send them away. But Jesus didn't. He saw they needed something to eat, He had compassion (verse 14), and feed them with all the food that he had. That's pretty amazing. So what about us? How would you response? We read how God did but given the responsibility how am I responding? When we sit in our Christian, safe bubble we limit our opportunities. If any person wants self-fulfillment; guess what it's not about you. It's how you response to others. If you help 3 people those 3 help another 3 and if it continues then 31,381,059,609 people could be helped. Those who are crazy enough to believe they can help others and change the world actually end up doing it. Nothing changes when nothing changes. So pay it forward. Do I have my own issues? Yes, but it's not as important as others.


I did end up going to my friend's church tonight; but today I am really thankful for Central Christian. A church that has been my support for the past four years. An important lesson I've gained from my experience there is "if you live in the past you'll miss the blessings of the future." Central has been a great part of my life and I know will always be there for me cause it's more than a church it's my home. I have no worries when it comes to the future for I'm leaving for college with wisdom, love, and strength. At my church the cross is central. Jesus died on it and handed it to us. It would be easier for me not to have invested myself in a community, a church, and a relationship with God. But whats the point of living a easy life when you a live a dangerous one.

Thank you to my youth pastor and senior pastor who taught me this essential life lesson today.