Tracy's thoughts

I recently read this 1976 article by Edith Schaeffer (Francis’s wife)
http://members.aol.com/Patriarchy/definitions/hospitality.htm
and found myself challenged to re-think what hospitality is all about. Mrs. Schaeffer questions if hospitality is optional or commanded. I think one can easily make a case that it is commanded, but what is it we are actually trying to embrace and emulate with hospitality?

In the past I think I believed that just being nice to those around me (my “neighbors”) qualified for some level of hospitality. So, if I loaned my lawnmower to a neighbor because she didn’t have one, then that fit the definition. Well, maybe. However, if that is the extent of the gesture, then I believe I fell short. I now believe that if hospitality becomes just one more thing on the checklist of Christianity to do, then it is optional (using Schaeffer’s word). In fact, I would almost suggest you consider refraining from doing things “just to be nice.” You see hospitality is not just about being nice, it is about showing actual care for those around us. It means taking a sincere interest in the lives of people.

Boy, do I still have some learning to do!

As I (we) begin to fully understand God’s love for me, then I can begin caring for my neighbors in a genuine way that reflects the kind of love I have experienced from God, which is much, much more than just being nice. It is in this experience that I believe we rightly begin to understand what Jesus meant when he described the Samaritan as the true neighbor.

I like what Brian McLaren says, “I am here to be their neighbor according to the teaching of my Lord, and if I am not a good one, my Lord says they have no reason to believe or even respect my message.”