Be Hospitable to One Another
“Be hospitable to one another without complaint.” (1 Peter 4:9)
Evidently being truly loving, hospitable and caring for one another can be burdensome. Of course it can because we still must abide in our fleshly bodies and therefore any act of sacrificial love, showing the Love of God in and through us, will come up against what my (our) selfish flesh would rather do for me (us).
Peter continues with a very interesting “one another” in 1 Peter 4:9 after telling us to love each other deeply, he calls us by The Holy Spirit to “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” I thought every Christian naturally gives hospitality with graciousness and love.
Only as we surrender to Christ as His disciples and learn to love according to His Word and by His Spirit can we love in this way… being hospitable toward others and doing so without grumbling or complaining. Love causes us to be cheerful givers and servers. If we are doing so with any spite then we need to re-evaluate and go deeper in The Lord allowing His Love to flow in and through us.
This is why we must spend time with Him, in His Word, in prayer and listening to Him daily and moment-by-moment so that it is His Love that fills us and overflows in cheerful, joyful, hospitable love for others.
How are you doing when it comes to hospitality to others? Are you gracious or grumbling? Let The Lord have His way and you will be hospitable without being frustrated or burdened because it is Him in and through you. This is the only way this kind of love can have its way…by Christ!
This “one another” command hearkens back to one we’ve talked about previously in Paul’s exhortation and encouragement in Philippians 2:12-14 where he tells us that we’re supposed to work out the free gift of salvation that we’ve been given in Christ in “fear and trembling” in order for The Lord “to will and act according to His good pleasure.” And how are we to do this? With no “grumbling or complaining,” so that His light will shine through us to a dark world!
I pray that The Lord will help us to first see the need and then reach out in hospitality to help whenever we can and to do so with a joyful heart and no grumbling or complaining. Let others see Jesus in me.
Food for Thought…Three things we find as Christ followers in line with this “one another” command…1) Be hospitable…put others above self; 2) Do it without grumbling, complaining, murmuring and certainly not begrudgingly…in other words, with joyous and cheerful hearts, and; 3) We are then to be shining His light in a dark world!
Action Steps…
- Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
- Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
- When it comes to being hospitable what makes it difficult for you and how are you doing?
- Figure out what needs to change for you to have an attitude and action that makes you a hospitable person regardless of others…then do so.
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Love and Lordship Prayer Focus… Heavenly Father, when others are hospitable to me it is such and encouragement and I rarely think about the time and effort they put into being hospitable. Help me to be grateful and learn to be hospitable myself so more can see the love of Christ. In His Name. Amen.