Thursday: Centers of Contagious Friendliness
Compare biblical references on hospitality with actual incidents in the homes of several Bible families listed below. Isa. 58:6-7, Isa. 58:10-12; Rom. 12:13; 1 Pet. 4:9. Note the attributes of hospitality that are demonstrated.
Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 18:1-8)
Rebekah and her family (Gen. 24:15-20; Gen. 24:31-33)
Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9)
Hospitality
Hospitality meets another person’s basic needs for rest, food, and fellowship. It is a tangible expression of self-giving love. Jesus attached theological significance to hospitality when He taught that feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty were acts of service done to Him (Matt. 25:34-40). Using one’s home for ministry may range from simply inviting neighbors to a meal to the radical hospitality of lending a room to an abuse victim. It may involve simple friendliness, an opportunity to offer prayer with someone, or the conducting of Bible studies. True hospitality springs from the hearts of those who have been touched by God’s love and want to express their love in words and actions.
Families sometimes complain that they lack the facilities, the time, and/or the energy to offer hospitality. Others feel awkward, unskilled, and unsure about reaching beyond what is familiar in order to associate with unbelievers. Some wish to avoid the complications to their lives that may arise from becoming involved with others. Many contemporary families confuse hospitality and entertaining.
| In what ways does your home life reflect your own spiritual condition? |
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The book of Acts mentions "breaking of bread together" for times. Clearly, the practice of shared meals associated with spiritual discussion and social interaction was significant in apostolic times. Sometimes we forget that even in our family life the shared space and time of a meal is important. Even in our house, we seldom sit at the table together to eat. However, we often have our evening meal together sitting in front of the TV watching the news. That, however, does not take the place of a shared meal where our phones and iPads are out of reach and we actually talk to one another.
In our modern family life, we need to make an effort to return to the shared family meal where the family can share and discuss. In the entertainment food industry, there is a growing interest in "slow food", where food is prepared carefully from fresh ingredients and people take time to sit and interact over the meal. In our family life, we could do with some more of that approach as well. Rather than grabbing processed, quick heat meals from the freezer, we could spend some time preparing the meal together and sharing the preparation with family members.
In our church, we have what we call "Life Groups". They are small group activities that people can join in, usually once a week in the evening. One of my friends runs an Indian Cooking life group. The members get together and prepare from scratch one of two dishes at each meeting for about 8 weeks. Carmel and I went and enjoyed the social/spiritual interaction and good food as well. I can only describe the whole experience as uplifting, enjoyable and informative. The really useful thing from such interaction was that we learned so much about one another; the lonely widow, the person struggling with illness, a couple with lifestyle issues; all people I knew from our church but knew so little about.
When I read in Acts how the early church broke bread together, I think of the shared Indian cooking meals that we prepared together and how we grew spiritually from the experience. It was worth it!
Acts 9:10-31
Two boys collected a bucket of nuts underneath a great tree inside a cemetery on the outskirts of town. When the bucket was full, they sat down out of sight to divide the spoils.
"One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy, as the other watched intently. Their bucket was so full that some of the nuts had spilled out and rolled toward the fence.
It was dusk, and another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."
The boy with the bike knew just what was happening, and his face went ghostly white. "Oh my," he shuddered. "It's Satan and the Lord dividing souls at the cemetery!"
He jumped back on his bike and rode off, desperately looking for a friend. Just around the bend he met an old, scowling man who hobbled along with a cane.
"Come with me, quick!" said the boy. "You won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls!"
The man said, "Beat it, kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk?" When the boy insisted, though, the man hobbled to the cemetery. When they arrived at the fence, they heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."
Ready to have a little fun, the old man whispered, "Boy, you've been tellin' the truth. Let's go inside, and see if we can see the Devil himself!"
The child was horrified, but the old man was already taking his first step toward the gate. Then they heard, "Okay, that's the last of them. That's all. Now let's go get those two nuts by the fence, and we'll be done." They say the old guy made it back to town five minutes ahead of the boy! More than likely, he was looking for a friend.
Most people are constantly looking for friends. Some people are desperately looking for friendship. At times we all stand frozen with fear by the cemetery fence, so to speak, when life shakes us to the core. At times the legs don't support, and a healthy heart nearly breaks. At times we can barely muster a prayer, and when it comes out, it's a plea for a friend.
More than likely, you already know the story of Saul's conversion very well. Whenever we come to a well-known passage of scripture like we have in Acts 9, we might even know the story too well.
Today, try to picture's Paul's experience from the vantage point of loneliness. In a matter of three days, Saul became lonelier than he'd ever been. He was probably begging God for a friend.
Saul must have been physically spent when he neared Damascus. He'd traveled some 120 dusty miles to stop the church from growing there. Then, just as the city came into view, just when he was nearing a hot shower and a good meal, Saul had lost his eyesight with one blinding light. All was dark, and all remained dark. With one deafening statement from heaven, he discovered that everything he believed to be true was false. Jesus wasn't the enemy. Jesus was Lord!
In the darkness, Saul must have expected the very judgment of God. Would he even be allowed to live? In the three dark days that passed, loneliness, grief, and despair became Saul's roommates.
In the depth of Paul's loneliness, God was about to reveal the power of a faithful friend. Saul was about to meet, in fact, two of the best friends he'd ever have.
First, the Lord commanded Ananias to go to Saul. Though frightened, Ananias obeyed and became the first friend Saul found in his new family of faith.
Second, Barnabas became Saul's advocate and friend in Jerusalem. If not for Barnabas, Saul might not have even met the frightened apostles.
Saul never got over the friends he found in Ananias and Barnabas. By becoming those faithful friends, they were about to change the world. It's impossible to understate the power of a faithful friend, and it's critically important that we be that friend to people in our lives.
Brothers Marcus and Josh thank you for your insighful comments On Thursdays' lesson study. Both were whimsical and inspirational as to what hospitality and friendship can bring forth in our lives as well as in the lives of others. This added fuel to my personal challenges of being faithful and hospitable.