Hey everyone!
Thanksgiving has just passed and you may still be in a food coma, but I hope you were able to enjoy time with family, good food, and maybe even some football! You might be ready to hop back in for some leftovers so I’ll keep this brief.
Over the years this has become a favorite holiday of mine simply because there is no pressure of gift giving and typically great food. It’s awesome to be able to enjoy that time with others sharing stories, maybe cracking some jokes, and simply spending time connecting. Yet, as I think of all of these amazing festivities, I can’t help but think about those who can’t enjoy days like this and that could be for any number of reasons. Maybe they’re military and are not able to travel for the holidays this year, maybe they are estranged from their family, or maybe they just don’t have many family members alive. Whatever the reason, the holidays are some of the loneliest for many people. God has shown us that life is all about relationships, He gave the very best of Himself so that we could have the opportunity for one with Him. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that He wants us to establish and grow relationships with others, especially those that may be lonely. We can’t invite the whole world to our dinner table, but could we invite one person?
As we’ve been reading the New Testament in our Bible reading plan I continue to be blown away at the relational way of living that Jesus models. He was often at someone’s house sharing a meal and enjoying community. He did that so much (especially with the outcast) that He was called “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34). The dinner table was a huge deal in that time, so much so that who you ate with was a direct representation of your character and moral standing. Jesus valued relationships over any perceived cultural norms, and lives were changed eternally because of it. How can we model that?
I saw this done for the first time while I was working at a church in Omaha. Karina and I were both away from family so one of the staff members, Sarah, invited us to her home to share a Thanksgiving meal. She also invited several people from the church that were “social outcasts”. Without going into much detail, it quickly became apparent that these were the most eccentric people I’ve ever been around. From crazy conspiracy theories to in depth conversation about doomsday prepping, these guys would not be the first on any invite list. Yet, Sarah invited them to her family home, with her husband and two teenage boys. Those guys felt SO loved and cared for in a way that they may not have been shown years. Was it awkward? Yes. Did Sarah have to a lot of damage control for them? Yes. Was the love of Jesus shown in an incredibly tangible way? Yes. From what I know those guys are followers of Jesus today and I know that night is part of the reason why.
I will be the first to tell you that inviting people to my home that I don’t know is not the most comfortable for me to say the least. I’m sure the same can be said for you reader. However, what would it look like to befriend someone that might be lonely for the holidays and invite them to your dinner table? We don’t know what God can do with that type of generous hospitality. I think we should give it a shot!
Enjoy the holidays!
Tyler Brown