Hospitality is Grace in Action

Today’s reading: 3 John: 1-12

The other  night a friend I’ve known only a few weeks called and asked if I wanted to grab a bite to eat with him.  I eagerly accepted the invitation, and we had a great time. God knows we should have forgone the beer, however. (We drank a pitcher and a half over our chicken wings and fries.)

In fact, today’s reading, with all of its talk of hospitality, brings that beer to mind again this morning.

My friend arrived at the restaurant before me, and I found him waiting contentedly with a glass of iced tea. My “manly side” was uncomfortable with his beverage choice, so I grimaced.

“What’s with the tea?! I figured you’d already have a pitcher of beer going!”

“Well, let’s get some beer!” he replied. “I wasn’t sure if you were a drinker!”

I’ve since discovered that my friend’s attitude and habits toward beer are about the same as mine: we both drink it fairly sparingly, but are also known to indulge  (too much) on occasion. For neither of us is beer a “staple” of life.

So I am disappointed in myself for immediately insisting upon the beer.  God knows our conversation would have been no less fulfilling over sodas and tea.

In fact, without the alcohol, the conversation would have been an example of what today’s reading encourages:

^“They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.” (Verses 6-8)

With the hospitality of his invitation, my friend was trying his best to honor and encourage the Godly spirit in me. But I, immediately, made the outing about beer instead. (Imagine Gauis’s guests complaining if he failed to serve them wine! Christian hospitality requires grace from both giver and receiver.)

Several times in the conversation, my friend and I both mentioned our churches and our relationships with God.  I’m guessing that the irony of such talk happening over beer was not lost on my friend. In hindsight, I’m fairly certain he had hoped those topics would merit more attention than they did.

But I was certainly blind to the irony. I let the world’s expectations for how men are supposed to respond to one another make me uncomfortable with my friend’s Christian hospitality.

I think I’ll invite my friend to lunch next week. Only this time I’ll let God, not beer, be the center of attention. Then he and I can start to “work together for the truth.”

Thanks be to God for my many friends. May I always honor their hospitable grace.