It is an awesome rainy morning here in the south plains of Texas! The grass is green, the flowers are blooming and the cows are getting fat and sassy! What could be better then that? Rain makes everything better does it not? After the last several years of drought it is a welcome relief. Thank you Jesus!
I have been thinking about something that I believe in this busy society that we live in is going by the wayside. Hospitality. The definition if Hospitality is....the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guest, visitors, or strangers.In the Greek language the word is literally means the "love of strangers". By the way I looked that up. I don't pretend to know Greek. I barely navigate the English language.
Did you know that Bible talks many times about hospitality? Well it does and it says it is a good thing to practice. It starts in Leviticus 19:33-34 and all through the New Testament hospitality is mentioned. Matthew 10:9-10, Acts 2:44-45, Titus 1:8, 1Timothy 3:2 and the one my Mawmaw always quoted Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." Wow can you imagine that? There are many more references Proverbs 14:31..19:17 Luke 14:13, Matthew 25:34-36. I won't attempt to write them all down that is your homework!
Today we live in such a "me" culture. We live behind our closed doors in our own little worlds of TV and online relationships. We have more access to the whole wide world then anytime in history. At the stoke of a key we can talk to people thousands of miles away or even in another country but we don't even know our own neighbor near by. I think that is sad.
One of my favorite shows is Andy Griffith. I love Mayberry and wished I lived there. Ha Ha. I like the shows that show them sitting out on the porch in the evening and visiting. People are out and about and they don't think twice about coming up and sitting a spell. That is what life used to be like. I never realized until we had to move to town that people don't do that anymore. We have always lived out with no neighbors so I didn't know what"town" behavior was. Even in this small small town for the most part folks just shut themselves away when they come home from work. I think that is sad.
I remember when I was growing up sometimes on a Sunday afternoon someone would just show up at the house. We never knew if they were coming...no texting back then! Someone would just pull up. They were always invited in and offered a drink or a cookie...my Mawmaw always had a little "something", just in case somebody came by. That was her mentality...to always be prepared if she had the chance to play host. Nobody does that anymore..just come by . Honestly I can't imagine just showing up at someones house! In this day and age I would feel like I was intruding and they would probably think I was!
As Christians I think we have the responsibility to be hospitable people. Our homes should be an extension of the Church. People should feel welcome when they visit and they should never feel like they are an intrusion. More then ever in this crazy world we live in I think people crave old fashioned hospitality.
I think the world would be a much better place if we did more porch sitting and less interneting.
God Bless and Happy Trails
RanchWife ...who is off to make "a little something" in case someone drops by.
1 comment:
I so agree with you that we should have an open door policy when it comes to entertaining strangers or even friends! I have found that even when I didn't have "a little something" to serve guests, just a glass of ice water or a cup of coffee or iced tea was most welcomed. A few slices of fruit or cheese and crackers works well too when there's not a cookie in the house.
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