Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Hospitality (02/07/05)
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TITLE: Hospitality or Hostility | Previous Challenge Entry
By Diana Richardson
02/09/05 -
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Hospitality is a word we don’t seem to understand very well. Hospitality is not having the Jones over for
dinner, because you want them to invite you next week. The Bible talks about hospitality as a characteristic of the Christian. In the Old Testament we find that entertaining guests was very important and that your willingness to be treat guests well was a gauge of your integrity.
Abraham was known for his hospitality and he found himself entertaining angels, (see Gen.18) or perhaps our Lord himself. Mideastern hospitality exceeds that of most cultures. Travelers were not turned away and they were served the very best the host could provide. The host also considered himself to be responsible for the well being of his guests. In fact we see Lot exercising this trait far beyond our western minds can understand ( Gen. 19).
Consider this story of contrasting ideas of hospitality. It was in the Thanksgiving season in Milwaukee. There were a couple of roommates in a two bedroom apartment with a small child. One of the roommates was worked early hours and took care of the other’s child after school. The mother worked long hours and came home each evening by bus.
The day before Thanksgiving the young mother visited on the bus with a man. He was a merchant marine who was on his way to a motel to meet his wife and children. He told her that he didn’t have time to go all the way to their home, so they’d arranged to steal the day together by meeting there. He was going to be back on the ship Friday. The thought of the couple and the two children eating room service meal in a cramped room was more than the young mother could stand. She invited him and his family to her home for Thanksgiving dinner with all the traditional trappings. She gave him her address and a time for them to come and got off the bus.
When she got home she excitedly told her friend the plans. Her friend was shocked and angrily said so. The very idea of inviting strangers to their house; they could be killers or something. The young mother agreed that it was possible, but she didn’t think so. She reminded her roommate of the Biblical commands to be hospitable, but her friend was still angry and fearful.
The next day as they cooked the turkey, the mother happily told her little girl that she’d have a friend to play with that day. Her friend was helping with the preparations, but was muttering under her breath. The family came, ate and had a happy time with the women. The children played and by the end of the day the roommate was enjoying their guests also. When they left she reminded the young mother that she was lucky they turned out to be just as they had appeared to be.
Now, I will agree that this sounds risky in this day and time, but it is a good contrast of the willingly hospitable and the grudgingly obligated kind. Some people seem to have a knack for entertaining. Those who have that talent have a great tool given by God to do His work. Next time you meet visitors at worship perhaps you’ll think about inviting them to dinner, maybe in a restaurant or maybe in your home. It may open the door of a heart.
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