Hospitality

 

DEVOTION

THE 3^RD LETTER OF JOHN

HOSPITALITY

3 John 5-8

5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.

NIV

We do not know who these brothers are who John is referring to. Were they brothers that were traveling from church to church with a message, much like an evangelist? It would seem they are not regular members of the church Gaius belongs to or may well be the local shepherd or pastor of, as John says that Gaius would do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. In addition, John tells Gaius they went out for the sake of the Name, which is capitalized meaning to imply Christ. Hospitality is at the core of this recommendation by John to Gaius, which it seems he has already done as John begins by telling Gaius how faithful he is in what he is doing for these brothers. It is certain, Gaius has no personal knowledge of them or were familiar with them as John acknowledges they are strangers to Gaius. How do we personalize this information? It has to come to be hospitable to fellow believers even when we do not personally know them. Of course, hospitality may have been quite different in those days and that culture, then it is today. Not every town had a multiple number of chain hotels and a plethora of chain restaurants for traveling guests to select for their stay and comfort. Hospitality then meant these strangers, being fellow believers were most likely invited to stay at the home of Gaius and he would have given them an introduction to the rest of the members of the local church. It also appears John intends for Gaius to make sure these travelers are sent on with some sort of provisions. Today, perhaps we show hospitality in a different way, yet we are still to show fellow believers who show up at the door hospitality. Some would say that this is one of the gifts of the Spirit and it is not ours, so we need not be concerned about showing hospitality as we can leave it to those who the Spirit has gifted them with. But that is not how John sees nor implies the blessing Gaius is to these brothers. It would seem this is simply the response a faithful follower of Christ would exhibit toward fellow believers, even those we do not personally know. What this might look like is when a new person appears at the door of our church, whether they are traveling through or looking for a place to settle, we demonstrate hospitality, which could be seen in several ways. First, we would make sure they feel welcome, second, perhaps we would invite them to share in breakfast with us after church, to get to know them. They might decline, but perhaps that just might serve as sending them on in a manner worthy of the Lord. Just random thoughts about how we might apply this hospitality to others. We do know the Spirit will guide us as we are open to his influence on our hearts.