November
28, 2017
How
do you react when the doorbell rings or there’s a knock on the door? Are you excited or anxious? Do you welcome these uninvited guests or do
you look around and think, ‘my clean house is going to get dirty?’ Are you
annoyed at the inconvenience or are you quickly seating your guests down and
sharing a meal or a cup of coffee?
I
hate to admit, but I have gone through a phase of life that I disliked
uninvited guests. So often someone would
stop by and I didn’t have enough dinner to share or I simply was exhausted with
the phase of life I was in and did not feel I had the time for them. Or it was someone who always stayed too
long. But one thing that always comes to
mind is Hebrews 13:2, “Do not forgot to
show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown
hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
3
John is a personal letter to Gaius who had a reputation and habit for
friendship and generosity, especially to travelling teachers and missionaries
(v. 5). Gaius definitely was an example
of one who follows Christ and loves others (vs. 1-8). Then there’s Diotrephes, the self-proclaimed
church leader who does not reflect God’s values (vs. 9-11). And finally, Demetrius, who also follows the
truth (v. 12).
Hospitality
can be defined as “the quality of or disposition of receiving and treating
guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” In the New Testament, the Greek word for
hospitality literally means “love of strangers”. Hospitality is a virtue that is both commanded and commended throughout scripture. In
the Old Testament, it was specifically commanded by God: “When
an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as
one of your native-born. Love him as yourself,
for you were aliens in Egypt.”
(Leviticus 19:33-34)
Jesus
depended entirely on the hospitality of others as they ministered from town to
town (Matthew 10:9-10). And as the early
Christians began their ministry, they too depended on and received hospitality
from others (Acts 2:44-45; 28:7).
Hospitality was indeed a highly regarded virtue in ancient times,
especially for Christian leaders (Titus 1:8; 1 Timothy 3:2).
And
let’s not forget Abraham’s humble and generous display of hospitality to three
strangers. He gave generously to these
three strangers, giving them the best he had. And as it turned out, he had entertained the
Lord and two angels (Genesis 18:1-8).
As
followers of Christ, we emulate His love and compassion when we show hospitality,
not only to fellow Christians, but even more so to strangers and the less
fortunate. In fact, we honor God when we
are kind to the needy (Proverbs 14:31; 19:17).
Christ taught us the second greatest commandment, to “Love your neighbor
as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), and the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us
that “neighbor” has nothing to do with geography, citizenship or race. Wherever and whenever people need us, we can
be neighbors and, like Christ, show mercy.
And
last but not least, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus discusses the hospitable
behavior of those who will inherit the kingdom:
“For I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a
stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick
and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:34-36)
A
couple of years ago, 2 young men walked up our driveway. It was like a blizzard outside. My husband had been out plowing our driveway
for the 2nd or 3rd time that day. These men were walking through 2 plus feet of
snow! So my husband invited them in to
warm up and we made them some hot chocolate and I gave them some warm muffins I
had just baked. My husband introduced
them to me as missionaries and they were out sharing the gospel with anyone who
would let them in. He told them they
didn’t need to share the gospel at our house because we loved the Lord. We learned that they were 18-19 years old and
this was sort of a ‘rite of passage’ for them in their church and that they
depended solely on the generosity of others.
So we packed them up with muffins and some fruit and told them if they
ever needed anything else, to remember our house and return for help.
By
serving others, we serve Christ (Matthew 25:40) and we promote the spread of
God’s truth (3 John 5-8).
