Christian Hospitality - Thank You For Being A Friend

'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for Me.' Matthew 25:35-36 and 40.

A Christian brother, Kenneth Lau, shared a story which left me with a lasting impression of Christian Hospitality and its positive influence on the recipient. Kenneth was a student in the USA and he related that one wintry day he decided to go on a cycling marathon. Unfortunately as it got dark, Kenneth cycled into snow storm. Soon he could no longer go further, whereupon he chanced on a brightly lighted house. He knocked on the door to ask for shelter. 

The host warmly welcomed him, sat him by the fire to dry and then invited him to join the family's thanksgiving dinner. There was Kenneth, intruding into this Christian family thanksgiving and yet, he was received as one of them and shared a happy meal. Perhaps the most memorable for Kenneth 

When the storm subsided, Kenneth cycled back to the University. He shared with us that at that encounter his Christian faith was strengthened for he had partaken of the love of God shared by this Christian family. This incident anchored his faith in Jesus Christ.    

What a fine example of Christian hospitality so wonderfully offered to a complete stranger! 

Hospitality was a hallmark of the early Christian church, the willingness to open up their homes to others, even to strangers. This was a major factor contributing to the spread of the gospel wherein itinerant preachers were offered accommodation in the homes of the early Christian families and shared meals. The early church was obedient to Christ's teaching in Matt 25, the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. 

Hebrews 13:2 reminded, 'Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.' In 3 John 1:5 the apostle John praised his friend Gaius, "Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you."

The sharing of a meal is a commonplace practice in Asian families especially with the Chinese. This is not the easiest thing to do. It is a gift. When we extend hospitality to friends and strangers, we have to receive them in a free and friendly space in which they will not feel strange but welcomed, the same way that Kenneth was welcomed that wintry thanksgiving evening. 

So let us be willing to share our private spaces. We can invite people into our lives yet exclude them from ourselves and keep them at a distance. Discover the other person and be a true friend because     

• True friends are lasting.
• True friends are anchored by God's love.
• True friends dare to love.
• True friends provide mutual encouragement.

That's what friends are for. 

It Is Well, It Is Well With My Soul

 

'The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord makes His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.' Numbers 6:24-26

The soul is the very basis of our spirituality and humanity, it is running our entire lives. Dallas Willard wrote, 'It is the life-centre of the human being. The soul is like an inner stream, which refreshes, nourishes and gives strength to every other element of our life. When that stream flows properly, we are refreshed and content in all we do, because our soul is rooted in God and His kingdom. We are in harmony with God, reality, the rest of humanity at large.' Ref 1 

Christians always seek this wellness within our souls, our harmony with God. When we are disjointed from God, we will feel insecure. Perhaps we have done something wrong or perhaps wrong was done to us. Perhaps we are very sick or  have lost our jobs or have quarrels with friends and families. At such times we might feel resentful, angry, sad and even pity ourselves. 

The psalmist lamented 'Why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?' three times in Psalms 42 and 43 in three circumstances. The psalmist felt

• Abandoned by God (Psalm 42:3)
• Forgotten by God (Psalm 42:9)
• Rejected by God (Psalm 43:2)

These two Psalms described the desolation felt by God's people at the time of their exile.  

Someone else who would ask such a question was Horatio Spafford. Horatio Spafford suffered many calamities in his life. He lost almost all his fortune in the great Chicago fire of 1871. His four year old son died soon after. Hoping that a vacation to the United Kingdom would help his wife and four daughters recover from the tragedy, he sent them off on a trans-Atlantic voyage. However the ship capsized after a collision with another vessel. More than 200 people lost their lives including all four of Horatio's daughters. His wife, Anna, survived and upon reaching England sent a telegram to her husband that began, "Saved Alone. What shall I do?" 

Horatio immediately set sail for England deep in sorrow and heavy-hearted. As Horatio's ship passed the spot where the shipwreck occurred, he thought of his daughters but God comforted him. Somehow he was inspired to write the words of this hymn, It is well with my Soul.

When peace like a river attendeth my way

When trouble like sea billows roll

 Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say 

It is well, it is well with my soul. 

How could a man who suffered such grief write these words? Horatio Spafford is a remarkable man. A lesser man would have wallowed in remorse and pity, even to the point of blaming God for the lost of five children. It must have been a very painful moment to stand gazing at the Atlantic Ocean over the very spot where his four daughters died. But Horatio was not such a man, his Christian faith and belief in God sustained him through this terrible ordeal. Horatio survived with his soul intact, still able to inspire many generations of sufferers through the most severe of challenges and to say that whatever the pain, it is still well with the soul. The same awakening and realisation also dawned on Anna, Horatio's wife. Their lives thereafter became a testimony of unstinting faith and service, and these examples were passed on through many generations. The human spirit can rise above tragedy.

What then is wellness of the soul? It is the right combination of personality, temperament and character in a person that accords self confidence, contentment and peace. It is being at a place of a right relationship with God. A form of godliness with contentment which St Paul advocated to Timothy, 'godliness with contentment is great gain.' 1 Timothy 6:6. The outward manifestations of such a wellness is holiness and happiness.

A 'poetic' description of such a person is found in Psalm 1:3, 'That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.' I considered words to describe the characteristics of such a contented person and came up with 

• Godly
• Christlike
• Gentle
• Measured
• Merciful
• Charitable
• Reverent
• Compassionate
• Confident
• Benevolent
• Forgiving
• Gracious

If only some of these words were to describe us, we will be truly blessed. In all circumstances we will have the assurance that God is with us.   

Lionel

Ref 1: Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, Inter-varsity Press, 2002