Loving Hospitality || Romans 12:12 || Manna for the Mind #51

Welcome to Day 51 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional series! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Romans 12:12 is our focus scripture today, and it talks about rejoicing and praying, especially in times of trouble.

Romans 12:12

12          Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

Paul is sharing with his Roman audience to actually love each other. It’s easy to love someone or something at face value, but genuinely loving someone can be difficult. Paul wants them to hate what is wrong and hold tight to what is good. Loving someone means kindly showing them what’s wrong and sharing with them what’s good. Loving each other means sharing genuine affection and delighting in honoring each other. Share true compassion and boast each other up. Rejoice in the hope we have in God. Continue praying to God in times of trouble. When God’s children are in need, be ready to help and be hospitable to them.

Share your hope in the world that God has given you. Pray to God when your world is falling apart. This is the theme I’m going to talk about with three people in the Bible: Abraham, Gideon, and Manoah. How do they matter here? Listen to the words of Hebrews 13:2.

Hebrews 13:2

2            Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing.

These three people did show hospitality to complete strangers. They showed God’s love to people that they didn’t even know. Abraham did it in Genesis 18:1-33. Don’t worry! I won’t share the passage but highlight areas where he showed God’s love. I’ll follow the same pattern for the other guys.

Abraham ran to the three gentlemen standing by him and invited them into his resting spot. It was the hottest part of the day, so he was willing to bring them in and let them cool off. He not only did that but also washed their feet and gave them food to regain their energy. A response to his loving acts was a prophetic promise made by the men that Sarah would have a son when they returned a year from then. Another act of love Abraham showed was his intercession for Sodom. He pleaded with God to not wipe out the righteous and the wicked. Abraham started bargaining with God about it. It started with the idea that if God had found 50 righteous people, he wouldn’t have wiped out the entire city. Then Abraham went down to 45, which God complied. Then 40, then 30, then 20, and then 10. Abraham’s care and compassion for the people of Sodom showed in helping God not wipe the entire city out of frustration and anger. 

Gideon also showed this love in Judges 6:11-40. This love was shown through his obedience. God wanted him to go out and rescue Israel from the Midianites. He’s nervous and anxious, too, because his clan is the weakest, and he is the weakest in the family. Yet God reminds him that God will be within him and give him enough strength to overcome quickly. Still, with his nervousness, he asks God to show him a sign. I don’t believe out of disobedience, but out of fear of what will happen to him. Even when God shared with him the sign Gideon was looking for, he panicked even more. He even thought he would die. In an ironic sense, or a holy one, Gideon built an altar where he was during this encounter and named it “Yahweh-Shalom,” which means “the Lord is peace.” He was so afraid of what was going to happen that Gideon thought he was going to die, yet he honored God with the altar that resembled his peace. Gideon, following God’s command, disturbed the people of the town with what he did. Some people respected Gideon, and others were torn about it. Gideon was preparing for battle, clothed with the Holy Spirit, but wanted yet another sign from God. You can tell his nerves are still present, but maybe not as strong. When God fulfilled it, he wasn’t satisfied. Gideon asked for a third request, and God still fulfilled it. Sounds like us at times, asking God for multiple signs to do what God wanted us to do in the first place, but we didn’t do it because we were anxious, uncomfortable, etc.

Manoah showed this love in Judges 13:2-25. Manoah’s wife had been unable to get pregnant, but an angel of the Lord said it was now time. Yet this pregnancy would come with a lot of rules: no drinking alcohol, no forbidden food, and no haircutting when he’s born. His wife was afraid and shared what had happened. Manoah needed to see it himself out of concern, shock, awe, and even excitement. God allowed him to see so. The angel repeated all the instructions: no grapes, raisins, wine, alcohol, forbidden fruit, etc. Manoah was so excited that he wanted the angel to stay and eat. He wanted to share the honor of the Good News with all because of the angel. They used the goat from the meal to make a burnt offering to the Lord, and the Lord responded. The angel ascended into the fire, terrified them, but the baby came. This baby would be Samson.

All three people shared their love in unique ways. Cooking meals for strangers, obedience in times of nervousness, excitement about the future with proper reverence, among others. Some of us today say they can’t be hospitable because their homes aren’t big enough or nice enough. We let the things of the world judge our hospitality when God is happy with us if we have two chairs, a table, and a rented room. There would be plenty of grateful people who would LOVE to spend time with you here. Think about those at your church or in your community. Has there been anyone with whom you could share a meal with? Is there someone who would enjoy an evening of conversation? Hospitality means making others feel comfortable and at home. It’s the best sign of God’s love for one another. How can you be hospitable?

Father God, thank you for our confidence and hope in you. Thank you for being our source of comfort in times of trouble. Thank you for walking with us in the in-between moments, too. Please help us to be there for someone else like you are for us. Show us where we can be hospitable to your children and allow your people to find a home for you in their hearts. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.