Everyday Stars: Hospitable Hosts
The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:34 (NKJV)
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV)
When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed.
Luke 14:12-14 (NKJV)
Hospitable Hosts are everyday stars. A host is 'a person who receives or entertains guests at home or elsewhere.' A hospitable host ALSO welcomes 'strangers in a warm, friendly and generous way' (Random House Dictionary).
LIKE WHO?
The man who always sits alone at church.
The new or unpopular kid at school.
The single lady who lives down the street.
And don’t forget the poor, maimed, lame and blind.
God URGENTLY directs us to welcome the lonely people… most often ignored.
WHY? Because people disregard their value. Because God created them and loves them. Because as a host, you can save a life! Even many lives.
HOW? Rejected people become dejected, and dejected people become loners, and loners become prey or predators.
They can give up and become suicides, or they can fight back and become shooters.
Personal story: My parents were extraordinary hosts. I learned party planning from two experts. But I recall no meal or occasion when lonely or unpopular people were on the guest list.
And yet, on a professional level, my mother was a civil rights leader: a model standing strong for equal rights, not just for African Americans, but also for people with special needs… and surely, for women in general.
In work, she did well. Maybe that's all my mother considered, because Jesus wasn’t part of our lives. She’d left the faith she’d known as a child. (Different story…)
But for of us who DO follow Him, we must embrace His sobering Words centering around hospitality:
'Then the King will say to those on His Right Hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me' ' (Matthew 25:34-36).
Because 'Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me' (v.40).
Therefore, BEING A HOSPITABLE HOST is an attribute of everyday stars.
Everyday Stars: Hospitable Hosts (Part 13)
NOTE: This is a 2023 update of a 2013 Carey Lewis Devotion. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players. Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.