Because God tells you to "welcome" others.
| posted 1/30/2009
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The doorbell rings. It's your next-door neighbor—again. She pops over several times a week. By the time you get home from work, you're so exhausted from all the hubbub that you'd rather be by yourself—or just with you immediate family.
But what does it mean to "let brotherly love continue" (13:1)? Does it mean you have to be the perfect hostess, with a four-course meal, decorated table, and picked-up living room? Certainly not. What's more important is the point of hospitality—that you care more about the person you invited into your home than how your home looks or whether or not the person's arrival is convenient for you.
As Scripture says (13:2), we never know who we might be influencing by our welcome attitude—maybe a future CEO, the head of a woman's organization, an overseas missionary, a stay-at-home mom. So invite your new coworker out to lunch, open your door to your neighbor, have a church visitor over for lunch—and you'll be fulfilling God's Word and pleasing him, not to mention bringing joy to others! (See also Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; John 13:18-35.)
Good Words to Remember:
Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained angels. Hebrews 13:1, 2
Today's Challenge:
What person could you welcome this week—and how?
Copyright 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.
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