Are You Hospitable? 

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.  (Romans 12:10-13)

When I was thinking about what to write, God put these verses on my mind.  The part that stuck out was the “distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality”. God is a “giver”, He is the ultimate “Giver” of all things.   But what about us?  Are we hospitable?

Have you had a service person come to your house to fix an appliance?  How about county workers doing maintenance on your road?  It’s hot here in Florida and offering a cup of cold water to someone that’s been working out in the heat would be very hospitable. 

But these verses also speak about being kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.  As a child, my mother taught me that if I break a candy bar in 2 pieces to share, I am supposed to give the larger piece to the other person.  That’s one example of giving preference to one another.  Throughout my life I have done this and it is totally subconscious that I would automatically give the larger piece to the other person.  Now, it’s one thing to give the larger piece to your best friend but how about your husband, or your child?

Sometimes we miss ministry opportunities even though they are right under our nose – in our own homes.  If we see a need, do we take care of it or do we wait until we are asked to take care of it?  My hubby is a servant.  When I make myself coffee in the morning, I will sit in my recliner while I wait for it to be done.  If hubby sees that it is done, he will get it and bring it to me.  I have never asked him to do that – he just does it.

There are lots of little things that we can do for each other if we simply keep our eyes open around us.  God gives us plenty of opportunities to serve the people in our lives.  When we serve others, we are also serving Him.