Tuesday; December 22

During a recent Bible Class, we got to talking about hospitality. In all honesty, we don’t talk too much about this in our society – and certainly not this year – but, often overlooked in the purpose of Christians is the need to show hospitality to others. There are a few references to hospitality in the New Testament, including John’s praise of a Christian named Gaius who seemed to excel in taking care of traveling Christians. After a bit of praise John writes, “We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.” (III John 1:8).
As I thought about this Christian virtue, I got to thinking about how it plays out in today’s society. In our modern culture, I don’t know of many people who are in desperate need of a place to stay or something to eat. I am sure there are some, but for the most part, our society has done a pretty good job of providing for these folks, so how can we be hospitable? The more I pondered this issue, the more I began to think that our modern need is less about physical needs and more along the lines of the emotional concerns people have. I know more people who are lonely than are hungry. I know more people who need a confident to talk to than those who need a bed to sleep in. Hospitality today might be accurately described as companionship. Even if we don’t end up being best buds, we can help people overcome their loneliness and isolation.
Do you know someone who is lonely? Probably not because if you know them, they most likely have friends – so that means we are going to have to look outside our circle. Sure, it might be a good idea to spend a little extra time with people we know, but I want to encourage us to find those who are chronically lonely and make a difference in their lives. Again, they may not be easy to find, but if we watch and listen, we’ll probably be able to spot them.
Let’s be hospitable. We should continue to support our local food pantries and homeless shelters, but let’s extend our reach to those who are lonely.

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more