Hospitality
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling - 1 Peter 4:9
We think of hospitality as having someone over for dinner and treating them to a nice night of fellowship in our home. While that is a wonderful way to show love to another person, the early Christian would have looked at that level of hospitality as merely scratching the surface.They would have read Peter's words differently. For them, hospitality required commitment and sacrifice.
Take yourself back to the first century. The followers of Christ are being persecuted across the globe, they find themselves quickly being displaced. They would have been forced to leave with few belongings and nothing to provide shelter. They would be at the mercy of others. Of course they would look to the safety like-minded Christians for hospitality.
Unlike the hospitality of today, this hospitality requires a significant leap of faith. Those seeking refuge would be strangers. They would be people the host only knew them because they had been asked for help. The hosts would put their faith in the Lord that the intentions of their guests were pure.
How many of us would open our house to a stranger? Shoot, how many of us would open our house to a friend to stay for an undetermined amount of time? I am sure there are some, but I guess most of us would not do the former and only some would do the latter.
One time we had a friend that needed a place to stay. So, we let him stay with us for some time. It turned out he needed to stay for about 3 months. I never expected it would be that long. Truth be told, I didn’t live to the standard of this scripture well. I can remember grumbling about my interrupted routines and our lifestyle that had changed. I hope he always felt welcome and my shortcomings didn’t make him feel uncomfortable. As I look back, I pray I look differently the next time the Lord calls us to share hospitality with someone.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Matt
We think of hospitality as having someone over for dinner and treating them to a nice night of fellowship in our home. While that is a wonderful way to show love to another person, the early Christian would have looked at that level of hospitality as merely scratching the surface.They would have read Peter's words differently. For them, hospitality required commitment and sacrifice.
Take yourself back to the first century. The followers of Christ are being persecuted across the globe, they find themselves quickly being displaced. They would have been forced to leave with few belongings and nothing to provide shelter. They would be at the mercy of others. Of course they would look to the safety like-minded Christians for hospitality.
Unlike the hospitality of today, this hospitality requires a significant leap of faith. Those seeking refuge would be strangers. They would be people the host only knew them because they had been asked for help. The hosts would put their faith in the Lord that the intentions of their guests were pure.
How many of us would open our house to a stranger? Shoot, how many of us would open our house to a friend to stay for an undetermined amount of time? I am sure there are some, but I guess most of us would not do the former and only some would do the latter.
One time we had a friend that needed a place to stay. So, we let him stay with us for some time. It turned out he needed to stay for about 3 months. I never expected it would be that long. Truth be told, I didn’t live to the standard of this scripture well. I can remember grumbling about my interrupted routines and our lifestyle that had changed. I hope he always felt welcome and my shortcomings didn’t make him feel uncomfortable. As I look back, I pray I look differently the next time the Lord calls us to share hospitality with someone.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Matt
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