Thursday, March 25, 2010

Practicing Hospitality

I wonder if you have had an opportunity to extend the grace, shelter, or presence of Jesus in the last week. My wife and I have had a few opportunities and sometimes it hasn't been easy. I am sure we also missed a few opportunities along the way.

Last night we went late to dinner at Arby's. We were the only customers in the place and it felt empty. After a long day, it was nice to have an empty place all to ourselves. But then a young woman arrived. She went straight to the trash and leaned over and looked inside. She startted talking to herself and to the trash. She spoke incoherently in a way that suggested to me that she was trying to get herself ready to speak with others. Pretty quickly, she went up to the counter and looked over the Value Menu to find something she could afford. She had only a few dollars and her clothes were well-worn.

The girl behind the counter was polite and helpful. She gave the wanderer a larger size drink than she had ordered. The clerk offered the woman a sandwich, which was refused. Then the woman left pretty fast. This almost empty restaurant along with the girl behind the counter became a place of safety for those few moments: a refuge for a weary soul, a place of hospitality.

Have you seen or practiced any hospitality this week. Tell us your story. You can comment anonymously if you wish. You might also tell how the experience affected you - however snall or large.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Quick to Listen

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19)

This morning, at breakfast with friends, we discussed the spiritual exercise of submission and someone mentioned James 1:19. Imagine stepping into your home where your spouse begins to vent and accuse…QUICK! Close your mouth and listen! Think you’ve got a response to tirade that is assaulting you…WAIT! Slow down; don’t speak yet. Give it some time or you will probably regret what you say – that conversation is going to take some unexpected turns and, more than likely, you won’t end up where you thought you would.

You drink your tea till it’s empty in a restaurant, only then to notice the milk that had dried into the crevasse at the bottom from some previous customer. You are repulsed. You feel the emotions rising quickly inside and…WAIT! Slow to anger. Slow to speak. You have already paid the price for someone else’s negligence, but don’t let that control your character.

This is submitting to others when you have a sense of power or rights at stake. This is aligning your will and freedom with God’s will and freedom.

How do you submit to your spouse or your children or anyone who should serve you?