Hebrews 13:1-6
Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:1-6 (NIV)
These verses in Hebrews are a beautiful reminder of how to live out our faith in practical ways. It’s about reflecting God’s love to those around us and creating a sense of community and connection by extending care and hospitality. Embodying these values draws us closer to God and positively impacts those around us.
The older I get the more I realize how much I took for granted and how blessed I was to grow up in a loving home with parents that lived out their faith as these verses describe, with a deep focus on hospitality. Mom invited people to sign a guestbook when they spent the night. As we sorted through their things hoping to find the guestbook, we found eight with every line filled; an incredible registry of people who were welcomed into our home. Some of these included strangers who got stuck in the snow or mud on our country road and needed Dad to pull them out with his tractor. They often spent the night, were fed and given whatever they needed to continue their journey the next morning. This also meant that we kids were awakened to either help with the task of pulling out the car or putting fresh linens on the needed beds and bunk-up with our siblings. One morning I asked mom if they ever thought about sending people on their way without inviting them in and she said the guests were given an option to continue their journey, but almost everyone chose to crawl into a warm bed for the night. My brother asked if they were ever worried about having strangers in our house and Mom just smiled and said we all needed to look up and memorize Hebrews 13:2 and we would know why they did what they did and that was the expectation of the Nelson kids when we had our own homes. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Nothing else needed to be said.
While this text gives us directives, it also gives us God’s blessed assurance, ““Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” This is what we hold on to when we are challenged to live as God is asking us to. Our task is to remember that we are not alone as we struggle to measure up to living our faith as people of God. God’s hand is right there for us to slip our hand into His as we ask him to walk with us helping us grow in our faith and our commitment to one another.
Questions for Reflection:
- What helps you get back on the path to righteousness when you feel yourself falling by the wayside?
- How do you strengthen your faith in a world of conflict and challenges?
Prayer:
Lord of Strength and Mercy, Walk with us, lift us up and help us see that we can come to you with our shortcomings and our blessings. Open our hearts to being willing to grow and change in ways that will serve others and reflect your love. Amen.
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