Saturday, 9 September 2023
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
God wants you to show hospitality to strangers!
The author of Hebrews was writing to a community of Hebrew believers who were discouraged and who were at the point of abandoning Christianity and going back to Judaism. He wrote to a group of Christians who had suffered in the past and were now threatened with even more suffering. Stolen property, beatings, imprisonment, and martyrdom was the fate the audience was facing.
In the midst of all their troubles, the author of Hebrews encourages his readers to not neglect hospitality. Hospitality to strangers.
You would have thought that the author of Hebrews would have given the Christians a break—that he would have said something along the lines of, “Ok guys, I know that you are going through a tough time, so don’t worry about being kind to strangers, make sure you gather secretly in your houses and stay away from strangers because they might sell you off to the Roman Empire to be martyred.”
Despite all the suffering they were going through, the Church was still encouraged to show hospitality. This poses the question. How are we doing with showing hospitality to strangers in 2023?
Can I suggest that here in Australia, the Christian community is no longer a tiny, persecuted community? But a community that has resources and is free to use those resources to help strangers and those in need?
So, is your hospitality improving? Are you more likely to open your home up to strangers? We sure have more capacity than ever before.
