Did y’all know that Biblical hospitality means love of strangers … and enemies? I seriously squirm a little when I type that.
I honestly can’t think of a single “enemy” in my life. But I can think of lots of people that I have just ignored because I’m too busy. People that I’ve walked past while looking down at my phone. People whose faces I’ve never seen, but I had every opportunity to take 90 seconds and show love. Show what it means to be a Christ follower.
It’s taking the extra time in the grocery store checkout line to start conversations with the employee. And before you know it, after weeks of having conversations with the same employee, you’ve created a relationship.
It’s choosing not to yell at the car in front of you that didn’t go when the light turned green. Or choosing to pray a blessing for the person who cut you off on the interstate. Ouch.
Instead of asking a friend what you can do to help, it’s showing up and helping. It’s picking up a kid from school when there’s a family crisis happening. Or just to make life easier.
Hospitality doesn’t always mean inviting and hosting. It’s loving. The way you would love a brother.
It’s hard. We’re busy. We have so much responsibility and things to do and errands to run and kids to shuttle around. We volunteer and commit and over-commit and taking the time to not only check in with someone, but to notice them? To help them? To think kind thoughts and go above and beyond to be a light in that person’s day? It’s not exactly on the to-do list. At least for me it’s not.
But I’m challenging myself to think about it a little differently.
It doesn’t have to be a radical action because it’s big enough for everyone to notice. But it’s radical because it’s different than what I’m naturally inclined to do.
This post is part of 31 Days of Breaking Bread
You are so right! Not only does a little conversation go a long way, but just the thought of showing God’s love and being a light to others is so fulfilling. It is easy for me to talk to anyone, HECK that is what extroverts do. I know this will be a difficult challenge for some.
I love this, because sometimes I put “hospitality” in a little box where it only means having people over to my home. That’s SO important, but I need to start thinking of hospitality as more of a lifestyle. Loving your series – I think we have a lot of the same concepts on our hearts.