Day 78 – Thankful for “Pass it on”

“Pass it on” has become quite a movement where I live in recent years, also known as “pay it forward”. In essence, a blessing is received and a blessing is given, or passed on to someone else.

I see this most often at the grocery store chain call Aldi. At Aldi you have to pay a quarter to get a cart, but then you get your quarter back when you return the cart. What apparently happens on a daily basis is that some unknown, unsung person puts their quarter in, uses the cart, and then passes his/her cart on to someone else for free. Then that person passes it on to the next person for free. Each one may have his/her quarter ready, but the person with the cart will say something like, “I got it for free. Pass it on.”  Any one of those people may decide that they really are so hard pressed financially that that extra twenty-five cents will make a difference.  They just return the cart to where it belongs, and no one needs to know that they have been blessed.

I also listen to a Christian radio station, 99.1 Joy FM (for which you can get the app) that encourages listeners to “joy” other people.  What this generally means is that a person in the drive thru will pay for the meal of the car behind them and leave a note with the drive-thru worker to give to them saying that they’ve been “joyed“!  Some people have testified what a huge blessing this has been to them, and some of them, who are able, pass on the blessing to the car behind them.

There are other ways that we can “pass it on” in life, too.

• Maybe we can pass on financial blessings to those who are less fortunate than we.
• Maybe we can pass on a smile to someone who needs one.
• Maybe we can pass on hope to the hopeless and joy to the joyless.
• Maybe we can pass on skills that others have helped develop in us.

Of course, as Christians, the best way to “pass it on” is to share the good news of the love of Jesus Christ that we have received.  It is, after all, good news!  It is the best blessing in the world!

When I was a teen, we used to sing a song at camp called “Pass it on”, by Kurt Kaiser (©1969 EMI Christian Music Group).  The words of the first and third verses are:

“Verse 1
It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in its glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You spread His love to ev’ryone
You want to pass it on.”

Verse 3
“I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I’ve found
You can depend on Him
It matters not where you’re bound
I’ll shout it from the mountain top
I want my world to know
The Lord of love has come to me
I want to pass it on.”

Today I’m thankful for all the people who have “passed it on” to me, especially the good news of the Gospel, but also countless other blessings!

What about you?  What kind of blessings have other people passed on to you?  Who has passed on to you the good news of God’s love?  What kinds of blessings have you had the joy of passing on to others?  What things would you like to pass on to others in the new year?