‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ Acts 2:42-47
If you were the creator of the universe, how might you show Hospitality? You might create sunsets. You might create beaches and mountains and flowers. It seems to me that the beauty of creation is a beautiful example of radical Hospitality. If that isn’t enough already, when God sees humanity struggling to thrive, he becomes one of us to save us from ourselves. God isn’t satisfied with watching humanity languish in sin and pain; he entered our experience to rescue us. That is the premier example of radical Hospitality.
God’s radical Hospitality towards humanity is an example, but it is more than that. God shows us what he made us for by living it out himself. The old saying, it is better to give than to receive, isn’t just practical advice; it is our design. We were made to find more joy when we are hospitable than when we are not. When you read the text above, there is something beautiful about it. Even if we are skeptical that the community can sustain such goodness, I think we all long for it. That longing is God’s design in your soul, beckoning you towards God’s way.
Find a way this week to show Hospitality to someone. What does that mean? It simply means making someone feel a bit more comfortable. Help someone feel more at ease. Afterward, evaluate how you feel. Ask yourself, is this a better way of living than if I hadn’t shown Hospitality?
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