Service without leverage

Matthew 5:43–48; Luke 6:32–36

Use your preferred translation.

Would we offer the same help if the recipient never shared our faith?

• What does the passage say? Restate it in your own words before interpreting it.
• Who is speaking, and to whom?
• What is the surrounding context — what comes just before and after?
• Which words or phrases repeat or stand out?

1. Jesus points to God sending rain on the just and unjust. What does that reveal about God’s generosity?
2. Luke 6 says to lend “expecting nothing in return.” What might we be expecting when we help?
3. How can service be sincere witness without becoming a tactic?

Is there help you give that is quietly conditional on a response?

Serve someone this week from whom you can expect nothing in return, and tell no one about it.

Ask God to make your kindness reflect His — given freely to the grateful and the ungrateful.