Hospitality

Hebrews 13:2 - "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

Hospitality is a spiritual gift that has suffered at the hands of today's suspicious society. Further, it is difficult for people to find the time to visit with friends, to say nothing of showing hospitality to strangers! Yet the Bible has some interesting things to say to us about welcoming the stranger. Is that risky? Of course. Does that leave us vulnerable? Certainly. But our hope, we remember, is not in ourselves, our own capacity to determine the intentions of another, our sense of self-protection. Our hope is in God who made us all. If we wish to share faith beyond our circle of like-minded folks in the church, we will need to re-discover the gift of hospitality. Today, that may be about as counter-cultural (and Kingdom-oriented) a witness as we can make.