Thursday, May 18

14 A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Acts 16:11-15

Lydia, A Picture of Gospel Hospitality

Today we continue our investigation into the life of Lydia, as recorded in Acts 16:11-15, 40. Following her baptism in Christ, Lydia urges Paul and Timothy to come and stay at her house. What we see pictured here is gospel hospitality. Hospitality in the New Testament is the word PHILOXENIAN (φιλοξενία). It is a compound word; PHILO means LOVE, and XENOS means STRANGER. Hospitality is the place where strangers become friends and where friends become family.John Mark Comer defines hospitality as “expressing the welcome of God the Father to all through tangible acts of love, namely through giving of food, shelter, and relationship.We see this on display here in Acts 16:15 as Lydai pleads for Paul and Timothy to come and stay at her home. Lydia is opening the doors of her home, the doors of her pantry, and the doors of her life for these people to come and find rest and comfort. I find it compelling that as Lydia experiences the welcome of God through the gospel, her first action is to extend this welcome of God to the people who are before her. We will look in detail tomorrow that this action is not a one-off experience as Lydia’s home also becomes the meeting place for the local church.“Those who live out radically ordinary hospitality see their homes not as theirs at all but as God’s gift to use to further his kingdom. They open doors; they seek out the underprivileged. They know that the gospel comes with a house key”. - Rosaria ButterfieldShowing hospitality is not a suggestion or a good thing to do. It is a command of Scripture. Romans 12:13 states, “Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.” 1 Peter 4:9 states, “Be hospitable to one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.” Hebrews 13:2 states, “Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.”What does gospel hospitality look like in your life?How could you invite a neighbor or a co-worker into your home to serve and love them like Jesus?May we exercise hospitality, and may strangers become neighbors and neighbors become friends.