“If we are one in Christ, then in reality, no one is truly a stranger.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – March 28, 2024
Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. 3 John 5, NLT
Though I am grateful for many aspects of my childhood, as I reflect today upon these words from 3 John, I’m reminded of the radical hospitality my parents extended to strangers simply because they were in need. In our home, it was entirely normal to have families or individuals stay with us in our guest room, sometimes for a night or two and, on occasion, for months on end. We lived on a fixed budget and in a modestly-sized suburban home.
As such, these guests were intimately integrated into the daily rhythms of our lives. I smile now as I think of a time when I was probably 8 or 9 years old, sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a bowl of cereal with a grown man whom I’d met only the day before. Was this, at times, awkward and uncomfortable? Of course, yet it was a tangible and concrete expression of the kind of love we as Christians are called to extend to others, especially those with whom we share faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we are one in Christ, then in reality, no one is truly a stranger. Though we may not share a personal history or have had the opportunity to share life together, upon meeting someone who calls Jesus “Lord,” you have immediately met someone who is as close as a brother or sister. And in truth, our bond in Christ is deeper and truer than any other form of connection, even with our own biological family.
By the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us, we are new creations, and we must learn to see our brothers and sisters in Christ in this transformative light. Though it is easy and often our default posture to live closed off from others, focused upon our own private wants and needs, this invitation into a life of radical hospitality in which we’ve never met a stranger is a daily opportunity to allow the Lord to draw us out of ourselves and into the messy beauty that is knowing and being known.
Prayer
Father, open our hearts to our brothers and sisters in faith, welcoming them just as you have welcomed us, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
How can you open your home to someone in need as an expression of hospitality and familial belonging?
Related Reading
John 17:20-23; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 4:1-6
Worship Resource
Jesus Culture feat. Chris Quilala: Make Us One
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