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"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
(Acts 2:46-47)
There is a family in our church who is involved in foster care. They have adopted one boy and are long-term foster parents to two others. Recently, they welcomed in another very young girl who needed a short term placement after coming out of a very difficult situation. When I see them at church, loving this sweet little girl and treating her like family, even though she will only be with them for a few weeks, it brings tears to my eyes. This is Christian hospitality. This girl needs particular attention right now, but they are more than willing to be "inconvenienced" so that this precious little one can feel real love, God's love, for the first time. Of course, they would say that her presence is a blessing and not an inconvenience at all.
My parents-in-law also do foster care. They have welcomed one boy into their family for the last 13 years. We consider him our brother. They have also cared for a couple sibling pairs for a few years each. Most recently, they had two brothers for about a year and a half. When they left, although it was for the purpose of moving them closer to reunification with their parents, it was still an emotional time, as we had come to love them, and they came to love us. The night before they left, my mother-in-law spoke with the older brother who was only about 7 years old at the time. She wanted to be sure he knew that he and his brother weren't leaving because they didn't love them anymore but because they were going to be reunited with their parents. This precious little boy said to her, "It's ok. I know everything will be ok. I came into this house without Jesus. But I leave with Him."
I cry every time I tell this story! What an example of Christian hospitality: welcoming in the strangers who needed a home, giving them love and safety and introducing them to Jesus who loves them far more than anyone else ever could.
Hospitality was a large part of the ministry of the early church. In Acts 2:46-47, we learn of the early church that, "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Even still today, church plants are some of the most effective ministries in reaching the lost, and many of them begin in homes. These examples of people living out radical, self-sacrificial, and practical hospitality are making a difference in the Kingdom of God. They are living on-mission—in their own homes.
Where have you seen people use hospitality as a way to share Jesus with others? How can you learn from their example and do the same?
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