Hospitality

The first time we lived in California in the early ‘80s I felt invisible. No one, bank tellers, clerks, waiters, people that I interacted with, looked me in the eye. It wasn’t until we found a good church and met dozens of Christian people that others gave me a sense of welcome.

Today’s devotional passage is the same one as the past few days, this time concentrating on the last phrase. It is about making people feel welcome.

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. (Romans 12:10-13)

As usual, I checked out the Greek words. “Given” is almost the same as our English “driven.” It means to follow hard after something. Hospitality is from two Greek words: philo meaning to be a friend or lover of, and xenos meaning strangers.

It is relatively easy to show hospitality to friends and family, people that I already care about and those with common interests. It is generally easy to be hospitable to other Christians, although even though we tend to gravitate toward people our age, or with shared hobbies and so on. Having a passion for hospitality to strangers is not as easy.

I can make excuses. I’m more of an introvert than an extrovert. I find small talk difficult unless the other person takes the lead. I’ve always been a bit of a loner. I am not well equipped in my gifts and by experience to spend time with people that I do not know. I’m too busy. Blah, blah, blah.

God isn’t interested in my excuses. I’m a good cook. We have a big house. He has blessed us with many resources. My husband is a good host and conversationalist. I am not very obedient in this command. Every human being is interesting, has a story or a heartache, and needs to feel welcome. I don’t like feeling invisible and should never be guilty of doing this to someone else. I’ve no reason to embrace the rest of Romans 12:10-13 and ignore the last few words.