“Reciprocity”

“And I thought we were friends.”  Ouch.  Has anyone ever said that to you?  Have you ever said that to someone else?  Implied in that statement is a hope for reciprocity.  Reciprocity means a mutual action is expected.  “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” is one of the statements that reflects the idea of reciprocity.   What if you do something for someone and they don’t do something back?  How do you feel?  What if you make a great sacrifice for someone and it goes unrecognized?  Does it mean your gift was rejected?  Does it mean what you did doesn’t matter?  It is very hard to give without strings attached.  It is difficult to act graciously toward a person without the desire that they will act graciously toward you.  We expect reciprocity.  Living in community is a lot easier with reciprocity.  It is good to love and be loved, to hear and to be heard, to know and be known.  But, what happens when you do all the loving, hearing and knowing and there is very little reciprocity?  Do you get angry?  Do you get exhausted?  Are you tempted to give up?  Our pattern for life in community is Jesus.  He reflects the disposition of the Father toward people.  Having a disposition like His is what it means to be made in His image.  Believers are connected in Christ, but living connected is another matter!  The painful reality is this, reciprocity in community is not a guarantee.  We’ll need more than reciprocity if we are going to survive Christian community.  More about that on Sunday.