Friday, September 11
Be hospitable to one another without complaining.
—1 Peter 4:9
It means that we have to open ourselves up—break ourselves open—in order to gather others in. Sometimes we would prefer staying closed, being indulgent, focusing on what we are trying to garner or achieve.
Hospitality is most difficult when we are thinking about it, rather than when we are engaged in it. Preparing to be hospitable takes more mental and physical energy than just doing it. When we are actually in the process of being hospitable, the joy engendered in others begins to infect us.
We find ourselves laughing and enjoying others’company almost against our will. All the worry and stress that preceded our hospitality is flung from us like droplets of water blown from a leaf by the wind. We are renewed in heart and our complaining tongue is silenced.
Gracious God, when others feel like an intrusion in my life, let my heart open to welcome them in.
