Come and Stay at my House

"When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord", she said, "Come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us." Acts 16:15

There is a unique and special type of hospitality that Christians should be capable of that transcends family, culture, friendliness and concern. Lydia is the woman in this passage and she was a businesswoman who sold purple cloth in her day. (How do I know this?) It says so in other places in the New Testament.) She came to the river to wash that cloth and there she witnessed baptisms. She was curious, then interested and asked questions. She believed on Jesus Christ and was baptized along with her whole household. This is not uncommon that the witness begins with one person in a family and spreads to others.

But Lydia was particularly persuasive. (after all.... she was a salesperson, right?) She absolutely insisted that the disciples come and stay with her in her home. We, as Christians should take note that our homes should be open to one another. We, like Lydia, should be willing to open our homes and invite brothers and sisters to come over. Not only to stay, but for dinner or coffee or just to visit. It doesn’t have to be a major production or to entertain, just to be hospitable. We are quickly losing this experience in our culture. Too busy, too concerned about making an impression.

Whatever our concerns, we seem to be overly concerned about something, so much so, that we just don’t have people over. We fall into this trap too. Although having people live with us for most of our married life has opened our home significantly more. I am guessing that this was not the beginning or the end of Lydia’s hospitality. Some of us are more that way. All of us should be more that way. Would you consider having someone stay in your home? For a few days, or a few weeks or months? Maybe even a few years.

Our privacy is important, I know. Our boundaries are important too. We can be taken advantage of, I know. But, as Christians, we should set an example for hospitality. If you are uncomfortable with such a possibility, maybe an alternative would be to meet for coffee or for breakfast, lunch or an ice cream or soda. I know that our hospitality has been more of a blessing than anything. We should do more. We want to have more people in our home, more often. Watch for that to happen. We have a simple and humble apartment, and there are always young adults around. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t have folks over for a meal or just to visit. Watch for it to happen more often again. If you are a little convicted by this devotional, maybe it will happen more often somehow for you too.

In His Grip,
Pastor Fred

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