Linking up
The Bible is so practical! Today, I read Romans 12 (The Message). Toward the end of the chapter are these words: Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. ...inventive in hospitality - I love that because our world is filled with people who are: To these real people comes the words, "...be inventive with hospitality." Today, I received this email from Chuck Swindoll which says it beautifully! Read it thoughtfully and prayerfully and ask the Lord to show you how to be inventive with hospitality. The Hawaiian word Ho'okipa connects hospitality with generosity. Both require giving of one's self. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ US AND WE, NOT I AND ME by Charles R. Swindoll Nobody is a whole chain. Each one is a link. But take away one link and the chain is broken. Nobody is a whole team. Each one is a player. But take away one player and the game is forfeited. Nobody is a whole orchestra. Each one is a musician. But take away one musician and the symphony is incomplete. We need each other. You need someone and someone needs you. Isolated islands, we’re not. To make this thing called life work, we gotta lean and support. And relate and respond. And give and take. And confess and forgive. And reach out and embrace. And release and rely. Especially in the God family . . . where working together is Plan A for survival. And since we’re so different (thanks to the way God built us), love and acceptance are not optional luxuries. Neither is tolerance. Or understanding. Or patience. You know, all those things you need from others when your humanity crowds out your divinity. In other words: Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. When God’s children are in need, you be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. (Rom. 12:10-13, TLB) Why? Because each one of us is worth it. Even when we don’t act like it or feel like it or deserve it. Since none of us is a whole, independent, self-sufficient, supercapable, all-powerful hotshot, let’s quit acting like we are. Life’s lonely enough without our playing that silly role. The game’s over. Let’s link up. "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent . . . " (John Donne). Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, Day by Day with Charles Swindoll (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2000). Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
