Christian philanthropist Fred Smith tells how his daughter Brenda and her husband Rick befriended an ex-convict and the woman with whom he was living. Rick gave the man a job. Brenda spent time with the woman, bought things for her, and witnessed to her about Christ. Together they convinced the couple that the right thing to do would be to get married. They even asked a minister to perform the ceremony and offered to open their home for the occasion.
But a few days later, Rick found a note from the man saying that they were leaving town to get away from a hired assassin.
Later, Mr. Smith asked his daughter how she felt about spending so much time, energy, and money on these people, only to have the relationship end so suddenly. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"No matter where they are or how long they live," she said, "they’ll always know that somebody cared."
Brenda and Rick had loved unselfishly, and for them that was reward enough.