Tit for Tat

Luke 6:37-38 NKJV:
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

As I read these verses, I'm reminded of the rules that govern human relationships which these verses inspire. We desire that people do good to us, we want to be treated fairly and honestly. We desire that whatever good we ask for, all concerned will do so for us. The issue with such thinking is the order of arrangement. Which one comes first: the good we desire from others or the good we must first do before we can demand any good from anyone else? If we then do good to others first, is it compulsory that they do the same good to us? Are we doing good for others for the sole purpose of getting the same reward from others?

The Christian race is one that is full of unpredictable twists and turns. A lot of things happen as we run this race: the good and the not-so-good; but through it all, we are reminded again that there's a God who sees all that goes on and he it is who will reward every man accordingly. For everything we do, whether good or bad, there is a just reward, which God alone can determine.

If God then determines the just rewards for my actions, then why then do I get evil atimes for the good that I do? Why do the people I have helped in the past the same people who will repay me wigh evil? Why do people easily forget the good done to them by others as soon as they are comfortable? Questions that God may not answer but all he demands from us is this constant reminder: the same measure you use will be measured back to you. That is a warning we will do good to heed as we run this race. Ours is not to do good, expecting that good will come back to us from the same people we have done good for, but we are to do good, irrespective of what people do or give us in return. We are not judges; we are products of God's grace and that grace can only be effective in the lives of others when we live it out by doing good, no matter the cost.

God is a true judge and his rewards will be just. I need only worry about the true motives for my actions; God will take care of the results if I take heed to the seeds I sow. As I recently heard: "Christians are not perfect; we are only forgiven". That same grace must move from us to other people, so that the life of God in us can be replicated in the lives of others. His time of favour is here.