Serving Others

Romans 12:9-12 (NIV)

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practise hospitality.”

If there’s one thing that has marked me the most over this year, it would be the conversations that I’ve had around the little kitchen table in my apartment. Conversations that have made me grow, change, laugh, love and cry. It’s been the place where I’ve been able to be truly present in a lifestyle and pace that has often been rushed and distracted. 

In this passage, Paul is encouraging us to practice hospitality as a way of being devoted to another in a love that’s sincere. To use this gift to demonstrate God’s love and generosity in a tangible way to those around us. When you open up your home, you’re actually opening up your heart to life-giving relationships. 

Like all gifts, we grow in our ability to serve others by being hospitable. It’s not always easy to create space in the calendar, but when you do, know you are extending the welcome of the Father into the world around you.

I’d encourage you today to make a choice to practise hospitality. We live in a culture that is so desperate for authentic connection, yet we so often rely on others to create that space for us. Extend the invitation, whether it’s having people around your table, demonstrating generosity, or serving; do it where it really costs. Don’t use the table as a place to get ahead or to take advantage, but treat it as a gift from God to you, and from you to others. 

Prayer — Jesus, help me serve the stranger as equally as those I know well. Thank you for this gift of hospitality and I ask that you’d continually remind me to extend the invitation.