Learning to love like that…

And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-29

How can I learn to love God like that? heart-1-300x225Is loving God the same as obeying Him…following a “do this…not that” set of rules. Or would such total way of loving God come as an outgrowth of my relationship with Him? As I seek to know Him better (through His word) and learn to trust and rely Him (through prayer) my love for God grows even deeper in my heart, soul and mind.

Could that also be true for loving my neighbor as myself? Instead of keeping a set of “this is how you love” rules, is it through developing a relationship with my neighbor? Maybe…but how can I have that kind of relationship?

Have you ever considered that’s God’s plan for us to learn to love our neighbors as ourselves is through hospitality? Think about this…the three key verses about hospitality are paired with the call to love.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.     Romans 12:9-13

Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:1-2

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 1 Peter 4:8-9

It is through hospitality I learn to love my neighbors down the street, those sitting next to me at church,  and the strangers God brings into my life.

Hospitality doesn’t start with the house or the meal (although they are both important aspects). Hospitality starts when we take time to notice the people God has placed in our lives. Hospitality continues when we began to pray for them. Hospitality grows as we engage them in a conversation and genuinely listen to them. Every act of hospitality may not include a meal in your home, but every act of hospitality should be done out of love…love for our neighbors and love for our God.

Welcome Stranger

On welcoming people into my home…welcome-900x600

1st thought – the house is a mess!

2nd thought – whatever will I serve them?

3rd thought – too much bother.   The end.

My thoughts have my best interests in mind, not the other people and certainly not God’s.

The verse, “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you to the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7 esv) challenges me. My failure, to welcome others into my home, shows that I care more about my comfort then God’s glory. Ouch!

The Greek word transliterated hospitality literally means love strangers. God has long has a “soft spot” for strangers. Back when the sons of Israel came out of slavery in Egypt, God told them to do no wrong to the strangers who lived among them, but to love them as they love themselves. (Leviticus 19:33, 34)

Come to think of it, I am glad God loves strangers so much. Because I was once a stranger to God. Paul points out that when we live the way of the world we are “separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God” (Ephesians 2:12). It is only because of God’s love and Jesus welcoming action, that I by faith can be brought near to God and welcomed into His household. (Ephesians 2:19)

I think it is time I opened my door and seek to show someone hospitality. Maybe it is the strangers next door (the new neighbors that moved in and I had not welcomed to the neighborhood) or another stranger God will put in my path. No matter, I will be on the look out for someone to welcome and bring glory to God.