Powerful Passages for Powerful Living, Pt. 7

Powerful Passages for Powerful Living, Pt. 7

Study Guide, June 14, 2026

Pastor Clay Olsen

Did you ever have a ‘Boomerang’ as a kid? We would take ours to the nearby park and throw it around for hours. They actually do come back to you! How so, you ask? Well, boomerangs work through a combination of physics and design. Each arm is shaped like an airplane wing…flat on the bottom and curved on top. That gives it lift as it spins. And since it is spinning while it’s moving, the blade that’s rotating into the wind gives it more lift than the blade moving away from the wind. And…this force tilts it and therefore causes a circular loop…and the boomerang comes back! I think I’ve just talked myself into buying another one to take to the park…how about you?

We could say that our very relationship with our Lord is designed to have a ‘circular loop’ motion to it all. What our Lord gives out in His graces and works to us is supposed to be returned back to Him through our worship and service to Him. And we certainly know that whatever we give unto Him…offer unto Him is going to come back to us in manifold blessings. But, okay…It’s not necessarily a ‘boomerang’ relationship, but it certainly is supposed to be a ‘reciprocal’ relationship…or a relationship of ‘reciprocity!’ Particularly, as we began to explore in our previous study, the very ‘Friendship’ relationship that our Lord Jesus calls us to have and desires to experience with us is a ‘Friendship of Reciprocity.’ And what is ‘Reciprocity?’

By definition, ‘Reciprocity’ is the practice of exchanging things for mutual benefit. We think of it as a ‘give and take’ practice where one person responds to the graces of another’s actions with corresponding actions. And in relation to our Lord, one of the clearest examples of that is from what the Apostle John stated in 1 Jn 4:19 – “We love Him because He first loved us.” NKJV This, of course, is the foundational principle of Christian love: our capacity to love God and others is a response…a reciprocal response to the unconditional and sacrificial love that God first showed us!

And one of the clearest ways that we show our love to God…or that we reciprocate God’s love is how? 1Jn.5:3 – “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” This verse not only completely enlightens us to better understand what’s at the heart of loving God, but it also completely enlightens us to better understand what’s at the heart of keeping God’s commandments. And that part is to understand that God’s commandments are not burdensome! Underline and circle and highlight… ‘not burdensome!’ What a massive understatement! That’s like saying: “The gold bars in Fort Knox were just deposited into your bank account, and they will not be burdensome for you.” Well, yeah…of course not! That would be unbelievable in value! The gold standard of valuable treasures in this world is Gold, of course! Not burdensome at all!

But that’s what the Word of God, the commandments of God, the laws of God are in this world…the greatest riches in the world that there are! Remember what the Psalmist said about that? “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”Ps. 119:72 And in Ps. 19:9-11 – “The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” The Bible that you hold in your hands contains the greatest riches in the world…the very words and commandments of God. And thus, not only are they the treasures that we are privileged to possess, but they are also the exact opposite of ‘burdensome.’

Remember, this broken world, along with broken human nature, is entirely upside down in its reasoning and desires. The world thinks of God’s commandments as heavy and restrictive and oppressive. That’s ludicrous! The fact is that they are just the opposite! The reality is that God’s commandments are light and lifting…they are freeing and liberating…and they are also more desirable and more rewardable than anything else!

Besides that fact, Moses also informed us that not only are God’s commands not burdensome…Moses said: “they are your very life!” In fact, living out God’s words are what ‘Life’ is all about! Putting God’s words of life into our works of life is what makes ‘living works’ in our lives and out of our lives, along with the everlasting results from our lives.

And on the contrary to that: Living in opposition to or contradiction of or neglection of God’s Word is described in the Bible as ‘being dead even while you live.’ Of course, the spiritually dead can only produce ‘dead works.’ But the Scriptures inform us that even Believers need to be careful, because even those who have been made spiritually alive can still produce ‘dead works’ if they are not, remember…if they are not abiding in Christ and keeping God’s commandments…acting and living according to the words of Christ.

Works that are not done to the glory of God, and under the control of the Holy Spirit of God, and are not done in relation to abiding in Christ are like the dead branches that become ashes just like the wood, hay, and stubble that the refiner’s fire eliminates from an unfaithful believer’s rewards. Believers don’t lose their salvation, but they certainly lose their rewards because of their unfaithful works. Their lives matter, but their works don’t count…since they are ‘dead works’…not ‘living works.’ They are fleshly works and thus, not faithful works.

Mark it down: At the end of every unsaved person’s day are an assortment of ‘dead works’…works produced from a ‘dead spirit.’ Yes, these dead works will still be judged, but since they were done while that unsaved person’ spirit was dead in trespasses and sin, they are what Ecclesiastes calls them, works of ‘Vanity…works in vain’…‘wasted works.’ And yet, as the Apostle Paul also warned the Saints…those saved and Born Again, though their spirit has been saved through Christ’s works, their own works, if they are fleshly or carnal, they will be as ‘dead works’. And though saved by grace through faith, some children of God have still lived more like: ‘Not Christ, but I’, instead of “Not I, but Christ.” Don’t let that motto get mixed up…for the Bible is filled with disobedient children of God who were saved in accordance with faith, but lived a lot of their lives according to the flesh. Thus, they will have a lot of ‘dead works’, ‘vain works’, ‘wasted works.’

But that’s where the beauty of a reciprocated life of ‘reciprocity in friendship’ with Jesus stands out! Certainly, we can’t give back to Jesus in the same portion, but we can give to Jesus a proportion of those graces and goodness and kindnesses that He lavishes upon us! Remember, Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom laws of reciprocity, as in proportional sowing and reaping. Look at His words in Luke 6:36-38 – “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.”

Here Jesus explains that by the measure you give, in mercy, forgiveness, resources, and such…that will be the measure you will receive back from God. Paul later reinforces the same principle by declaring the laws of sowing and reaping. Gal.6:7-10 – “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

Remember, God has set this law of ‘reciprocity’ into motion. We just have to keep it going, not only for God’s glory, but also for other’s blessing and for our own gain. These are core laws for harvest. For good or for ill, we reap what we sow! The quality of the harvest always matches the seed planted. In daily life…planting kindness yields goodwill, while planting anger yields conflict, and on and on. Plus, we reap more than we sow. This is the multiplier effect. Just like a small acorn grows into a great oak tree that produces thousands of acorns, the emotional, and relational, and even material return you get is or will be much larger than your original effort or action.

And we reap later than we sow. Especially since we know that this world is not our home, much of the sowing in this world will see its harvest in the world ahead when we are home in Heaven. Wisdom includes living this life with the mindset of delayed gratification. And Christians must learn this art of thriving while living with delated gratification. Yet even now, our cup of all our soul needs and craves can be completely full, for our Savior and our God is the One who fills that cup! And, again, Christ is the only One who can fill that cup.

The point is, so since our cup of identity, significance, and the fruit of the Spirit can be full in the here and now, we are then sufficed and then prepared to be able to wait upon the rest of the full measure of all the justice and vindication due to us. And our God will see to it that it is given to us! Our God of ‘Justice’ will make sure of that! So although some is delayed for now…it will not be denied! God will right every wrong ever done to us by anyone. It’s the Law of the Harvest.

This ‘Law’ also calls for all believers to be careful about what they sow at any time or at any stage or at any age in their lives, because often the consequences you experience today are the results of good habits or bad habits or good choices or bad choices that were made months or even years ago. That’s why we are to pray for wisdom and discernment about the choices we make from day to day. Choices are ours…consequences are God’s. And He has revealed to the world that the world is under this Universal Law: You reap what you sow!

And, actually, there’s one more part to it: ‘We reap longer than we sow.’ Again, we have a short time on Earth to sow whatever it is we are going to reap for Eternity. It was written of the wisdom of Moses that: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” Heb.11:24-26 No wealth or privilege in this world can begin to compare with the rewards and privileges awaiting those children of God who sow faithfulness for Jesus and sow friendship with Jesus on this side of Heaven. Understanding that and living according to that is what wise children of God do as they seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Plus, it’s just another way to reciprocate the friendship that Jesus longs to have with you. A great way to be a good friend to your King Jesus is to long for and prepare for His Kingdom that is coming…and coming soon!

Then, We can also reciprocate our friendship by caring what Jesus cares about. That’s something special about a special friend, in that a friend begins to love what the other loves. Remember Jesus clearly told us His purpose of why He came to Earth. Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” That’s as stunning of a summary statement as can be about what Jesus cares about. So that concern is to be an ever-growing concern for us, too, as ‘Friends’ of Jesus. There are three things that you and I should have on our heart to do more and more of as we go on and on in our lives…as we are able of course. We should seek to witness more…to give more…and to serve our God more. These are the things that are on Jesus’ heart, and so, in order to be more of friend to Jesus, these are the things that are to be on our hearts as well.

Some find it difficult to witness through their spoken words…so take advantage of witnessing through the written word. God powerfully uses His Gospel message through the written words in personal letters, or prepared tracts, or published explanations of the Gospel, and of course, through the distribution of the Scriptures themselves. Just keep trying to find ways for you to be involved in the Great Commission…find ways to get the message of the Gospel of the New Birth and the gift of Salvation out to a world that desperately needs to know the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and who alone can give them eternal life.

There’s more to explore in our study of ‘Reciprocity’ in our friendship with Jesus, but if we go ahead and activate what we’ve seen about what we are to reciprocate, then that will fully stimulate, motivate, and reinvigorate our faithfulness and our friendship with our Savior! (There’s a time to rhyme, too, you know?!)