Hospitality and Relationships

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13: 2

I have not had much experience in the area of hospitality.  Even though I do enjoy the idea of opening my home to be the house of gatherings, for some reason the opportunities just don't seem to present themselves more than on rare occasions...or so I've thought...the thing is...I need to pause and think about this a minute: what is the proper approach? Am I supposed to passively wait for opportunities to show up...knocking at my door, pun intended...or...am I to actively seek out opportunities to open my door without waiting for people to come knocking?

While reading the first couple of chapters of the book Holy Hygge by Jamie Erickson at our church's summer book chat, my mind has been filled with endless thoughts and questions about how my own insecurities and self-consciousness might have kept me from carrying out the command to hospitality which we have been given since God first welcomed Adam and Eve to that very first home He so lovingly made for us.

Chief among all these ponderings, is the question: "what is my definition of a stranger?"  Is a stranger just the random person off the street with whom we have no connection or have ever met? Or could it also be the high school classmate whom we haven't seen in thirty or forty years? Could it be our children's childhood acquaintance whom we have never had a chance to meet as an adult? Maybe it is our next-door neighbor, with whom we have hardly exchanged a few distant hellos. 

I’m thinking more and more that the definition of “stranger” should probably extend all the way to passing acquaintances, people with whom we are loosely connected, but are not part of our inner circle.  The author of the book reminds us how Jesus had concentric circles of connections (p. 64-65).  Jesus was and is intimately connected forever in that example of perfect fellowship that is the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In the human realm, though, while Jesus walked on this earth, He had a tight band of brothers: Peter, James and John.  Immediately next to that close circle, was the next loop: the rest of His disciples, partners in ministry.  Then, there was the outer loop, the multitudes…the strangers.  Were they really strangers, though?  Can Our Emmanuel, Our God With Us really have strangers among Him? Can we?

Jamie Erickson suggests that, based on the life of Jesus and on how He related to people around Him, “our social connections should fall into one of three categories: encouragement, discipleship and evangelism.” (p. 65)  In this scenario, nobody is truly a stranger since each person God puts along and around our path belongs to at least one of these three rings of social connectedness. 

In the circle of encouragement, I need to have those close friends, my Peters, Johns, and James.  In the ring of discipleship will be what the author refers to as my “mother-sister-daughter relationships.” (p. 67) These connections are not literally demarcated by blood lines, not at all.  I would be really losing on this one if that were the case.  I never had daughters and my mother has been gone for 23 years.  But I do have spiritual mother-figures and I know I can find daughters in every corner, if I keep my eyes open.  Then, there’s the evangelism ring, and that’s the multitudes.  That’s where all the “strangers” among me fit.

It's hard, though…opening my “home,” whereas it is my literal house or the home of my heart, soul, mind, time and wallet to “strangers,” especially those with whom I do not agree or find difficult to love.  That is very hard.  I’m goo guarded.  I don’t want to reveal my vulnerabilities and insecurities to anyone, let along “strangers.”  But, if I want to get better at loving Jesus, I have to love those He has placed around me as I make my feeble attempts at encouraging, discipling and evangelizing. (Erickson, p. 74)  After all…I don’t want to miss the chance of entertaining angels, right?

 

What could be some practical ways in which we can fulfill the command of hospitality to all our circles of social connections in order to encourage, disciple and evangelize?

Fond Memories

 Yesterday, I read a short devotional that at the end asked a couple of questions which were very relevant to this moment in my life.  The first question was:

1. What place holds fond memories for you?

Even though I have several places that hold fond memories for me...there is one that stands out as the first one that pops into my head when a question like this comes up:  the country of my birth...Panama.  As it happens, I'm at a point in my life where I have lived longer in the United States than I lived in Panama.  But...the years I lived there were formative and there is no way I can forget them.  No matter what, I will always carry Panama in my heart as my first love.  I try to go every year.  This year, I've been blessed to have gone twice.  As a matter of fact I just came back the day before I read this question, and of course, that was my answer.  

God destined it for me to be born and raised in this tiny Central American country, even though He had also designed it for me to leave it in my mid twenties.  But He knew I would always hold it in a special place in my heart.  My memories of this special place involve childhood playtime, teen-dreams and young adulthood plans colored by blue skies with the sound of the ocean always in the background, bright sunshine and never ending warmth...the smiles and the voices of my loved ones who have already finished their journey on this earth plus those who still remain...the smells of greasy foods and spicy rice...and the taste of cold Coca Cola and sweet lemonade.  The memories of my Mother's perfume and my Dad's after-shave, and the tight embrace of those who hate to see me leave one more time saturate my mind day and night...

Am I sad God's plan involved for me to make a life somewhere else, far, far away? Sometimes.  But the core of the answer to the next question is what makes life bearable:  

2. How might you make new memories today?

The beautiful truth is that the Lord allows us to make new and precious memories every time and in every place for as long as we are willing and keep an open mind.  Becoming a visitor in my home country has been a hard pill to swallow (and I can't even swallow pills)...but the new memories I have been able to make for the last, almost thirty years are what have shaped who I am.  The voices and laughter of my sons playing in the background when they were little boys...their hugs and presence now that they are almost all grown up...the very fact they exist...the steady hand of my faithful companion, walking alongside, the beauty of summer, the allergies in the spring, the melancholy of fall and even the quiet serenity of a snowy evening inside a warm home...the friendships...the church...the job...the hope...are all around new, deeply fond memories that this not-so-new place now hold.

Is it hard to make a life in a new place? Yes.  Is it impossible? Not, it is not.  The Lord's plan is perfect and in His wisdom, He knows exactly what we need in order to become who He designed us to be.  After all, earth is not our forever home.  And I'm grateful, He has promised we will one day have that...no more goodbyes...when He calls us to our last move.

Photos from Our Last Trip to Panama

The Divine Gardener Knows

 I am NOT a gardener.  But I do appreciate the countless life-lessons that derive from gardening.  God's creation is a hands-on classroom, indeed. So, every summer I make, rather pathetic attempts at planting stuff.  Most of my efforts yield disappointing results...probably due to the fact that I have no clue what I'm doing.  This year, though, I did a bit of research before I decided what to plant.  In doing so, however, I found out information that helped me with an earlier effort that had also ended up in catastrophe. 

A year ago, I decided to be brave and resolved to make a friend who needed cheering up, a planter with succulents.  Rather than just doing what I usually do, which is buy an arrangement made by expert hands, I figured I wanted it to be special, so I made it myself.  I found this really colorful and pretty clay planter which I thought would be perfect! Then, I bought a couple of species of succulents and planted them.  How hard could it be, right? After all, some of them are cacti.  If the desert doesn't kill them, how could I, right? WRONG! 

I thought I was so smart.  It turns out I wasn't.  Soon after I planted them, they started to rot and die.  Soon, the whole thing was a miserable mess and I didn't know what I was doing wrong.  I put them outside...that didn't work.  I kept them inside, that seemed to be a bit better, but no real improvement.  I water them.  Gave them light...even talked to them.  I asked them, "whatup"?  But they didn't answer...so I gave up.  Fast forward to this year, as I was researching about my current endeavors, I saw the beautiful planter, sad reminder of my previous failures, and almost without thinking, I googled "how to grow succulents." Well, the first thing I read was:  "DO NOT OVER WATER or they will ROT!  Only water when the soil is bone-dry."

Well, needless to say, I felt so dumb.  Of course they can't be over-watered...they are desert creatures.  So I went and got a couple more which looked just exquisite.  Pulled out the sorry-looking skeletons of what once was something beautiful, and planted the new ones.  I'm happy to say that my diligence has paid off.  It's been over a month and they are looking radiant! I found a perfect spot where they get plenty of sunlight and I wait until the soil is dry before I water.  I keep moving them so they grow straight as they turn toward the sun, and I tell them how gorgeous they are.  I believe I might even be able to actually present them to my friend as a worthy gift after all.

All I needed to do was to familiarized myself with the plants.  I needed to know them, find out about their needs, so I could provide for them in a manner that would make them grow and thrive.  It is very difficult to nurture that which we don't know.  What seems right for some, is completely wrong for others, and if we don't care enough to know...we end up doing more damage than good.  No water? What do you mean, a plant doesn't need much water?! In my amateur gardening skills, that was completely counter-intuitive.  But I didn't know what the right conditions needed to be for these plants to prosper...

Good thing God knows us inside and out.  He knows what we need and what we don't need way better than we know ourselves.  We complain and reject our circumstances, but God is a Divine Gardener who is fully knowledgeable on the subject of us...and what seems wrong to us, is exactly what we need so we can eventually grow and bloom.  He plants us where He wants us, because He knows that's where we need to be.  It's just that simple.  

I pray that next time we feel unseen, unknown, un-cared for, unloved, we remember that we are in the hands of the Gardener Who not only planted us, but designed us, and that He knows exactly what He is doing in our lives for our benefit and prosperity.  In the Precious Name of Jesus.  Amen!

 

Bible Verses on Being Known By God*

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. Psalm 139:1

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Psalm 139:3

Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. Psalm 139:4

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

(*From https://www.estherdorotik.net/blog/31-bible-verses-about-god-knowing-us-and-unconditional-love/)

I Love You Because...

 It has become a silly little tradition of ours to watch the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days on the last day of school every year.  We started the tradition since the movie came out in 2012. Dylan and I continue to watch it after Grant graduated, and we truly enjoy it.  It's the official start of summer break for us.  

At any rate, in that movie, there is a scene where they are playing a game called "I love you because..." It is a really funny scene which is now imprinted in our interactions as a family.  We laugh and make fun of it every time we watch that part.  

Today, I was listening to one of the short devotional podcasts that I try to listen to every day, and the minister said something that I thought was really simple, but profound.  He said: "we don't obey God so God would love us.  We obey Him because He loves us."

Our acts of obedience and of service to the Kingdom should not be meant to gain the proverbial "step" to heaven.  We can't do that.  If we could, Jesus' work on the cross would have been for nothing.  His love for us is not based on our performance, and Praise the Lord for that!  Otherwise, we would be lost without any hope of redemption.  As Paul reminds us:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.” Romans 3: 10-12

Therefore, doing "good deeds" to earn God's love is futile.  It's all the way around.  We do our "good deeds" because He loves us and that is what a beloved child of God does.  Our acts of righteousness and obedience are all based on Love...on God who is Love!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3

Our motivation should always be love, but not so much to gain it, but to demonstrate it and share it...for we already have it.

The silly game in the movie we watch is all about performance.  It goes something like:  "I love you because...you cook for me/buy me nice things/help me keep my body clean..."  It is conditional love, based on what the other does for us or what we do for others.  God's love...real love...is unconditional...solely based on the One Who Is Love...it is based on His sacrifice...it is based on the cross.  We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4: 19).  There is no way we would know what love is without Him. May we always remember that.  In Jesus' Precious Name.  Amen!

Thank You, Lord!

 As I'm wrapping up the semester, I feel infinitively grateful to Our Lord for holding me, helping me, guiding me, sustaining me and giving me wisdom during the last 3 years I served as Chair of our department.  I can say without a doubt, that there is NO WAY I could have done this without Him going before me every step of the way.  I want to give Him ALL Praise and ALL Glory for accomplishing this duty, which I deeply doubted I could have performed at any level of acceptable quality without Him.

He knows me and He knows how inadequate I am for a job like this one, but He put me in it because He wanted me to experience His guiding hand along every turn, twist and hurdle on the road.  He wanted me to experience how total dependence in Him makes the impossible possible.  He wanted me to taste the richness of His sustaining love when I felt all alone.  He wanted me to stand by His strength when I could not go any further.  And so He did!

Three years ago at this time I was in agony, dreading what was ahead...immersed in the middle of a horrible battle with co-workers which didn't seem to have a resolution in sight...feeling the weight of a crumbling organization being placed on my shoulders to carry on my own...praying without ceasing for wisdom and guidance.  Today, I'm beginning to breathe again...and it is all because of God's Grace!

So, I just want to say, thank You, Lord for walking with me always, not just these last 3 years, but every day. Thank You for the gift of Your Presence, the Only source of true comfort and strength. I offer what is left of my life to You.  May I continue to find evidence of the reality of Your indwelling in my soul and in my heart for the rest of my days.  Amen!

The Abundant Life of Christ in Us

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10: 10

I usually do not feel led to the King James translation of Scripture, but for this verse, I prefer it because of the word "abundantly."  The NIV version uses the word "full" instead, and whereas the connotations of this term are great, indeed, the "richness" of the word "abundantly" seems more fitting to Jesus, at least in my humble opinion.  

I might be entirely wrong, but "full" gives me the sense of something very practical and material.  Full makes me think of having no room left (as in my stomach after dinner) or of something that is comprehensive and thorough.  It has a very spatial sense to me, like I can almost see it.  It is as if it is full to the measure of the space that it is filling.  "Abundant" on the other hand, seems more ethereal, more abstract.  It does not have a measure.  It transcends.  It's ample, profuse.  It is plentiful and lavish...like Jesus' love.

This life that Jesus comes to give to us is a life without limits because it is the life that we live with Him and it goes beyond the container.  And, again, in my humble opinion, Jesus is not referring here to the material aspects of life.  I believe, Jesus is pointing to the life we live when He is in us.  That is the miracle of such inexhaustible abundance: Christ in me.  That is the hope of glory like Paul tells us in Colossians 1: 27.  And glory cannot be contained in spatial parameters.  Just like Jesus whom the grave could not keep, the life lived with Him in us surpasses even us.

This abundant life is not about a richness that can be touched or even about a sense of happiness or satisfaction or stability as the world understand such concepts.  This abundant life is the one that showers us with the assurance of His Presence...because it is His Presence the element that produces the abundance that Jesus is telling us about.  No endless amount of the stuff of this world could ever give us this abundant life.  Only His Presence in us can.  

Today, as I look out the window, complaining about yet another dreary day in May...I pray that I'm reminded that even in the darkest and most depressing of times, we can hang on to Jesus' promise of abundance, because His love and His presence have no limits, and as long as we can count on Him, we can get through everything.  May the Holy Spirit give us a keen awareness of Jesus in us, the only hope of glory.  Amen!

Eye-Roll Code

 "Your eyes are going to get stuck like that!"  This was a warning I used to hear from Rosa all throughout my childhood.  Actually, she would say it to my sister way more than to me...but I can't pretend the admonition wasn't meant for me too.  

The thing is that my sister and I are major eye-rollers.  It's like our second language.  We have it coded:  One eye-roll=UGH.  Two eye-rolls + one sigh="you idiot."  Two eye-rolls + shaking the head = "your stupidity has no limits." Two eye-rolls + shaking the head + a deep sigh = "you're not dead because God is Good."  One eye-roll followed by a long, long blink + a sigh = "you've better be gone when I open my eyes or not even the Power of the Blood could save you."

Yep...patience has not been a fruit easily grown neither cultivated in abundance in the garden of my soul.  It's one of those things I really struggle with.  My sinful nature and the old me conspire to keep me trapped in this stronghold, causing me to stumble over and over again.

I read Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 3, and I can't help but wonder: how in the world am I going to "put to death, ..., whatever belongs to my earthly nature"? (Colossians 3: 5a)

I know Paul lists things such as sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, and things that lead to idolatry.  But he also mentions, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language...and my behavior is bordering this territory.  My eye-rolling is a sign of my impatience, which in turn is derived from my pride, and when this one is wounded, it quickly flows into anger, rage and even malice, and all the other stuff that keep my earthly nature alive and well, rather than dead and in the grave.

The remedy is to "put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Colossians 3: 10)  My problem is: I don't think I know how to do that?

When I don't know how to do something, I need to read the instructions over and over again, until a single sentence is broken down in my head into smaller portions or single steps.  In this sentence, we have that the first fragment says: put on the new self.  OK, what's that? Well, that's my earthly sinful nature which I'm supposed to have killed.  But, did I really kill it? The truth is, I would not know the first thing about killing my earthly and sinful nature.  Jesus had to do that for me.  Only by His death and resurrection this could be accomplished! So, by His wounds I have been healed! PTL, AMEN! But then, what?

Well, Jesus' also imputed His righteousness in me as a result of His sacrifice on the cross.  He took my sin and gave me His righteousness.  He put a new self in me.  Alleluia!!  So by His work and sacrifice, and by dwelling in me, He has taken care of this part because there's no way I could do it on my own.  I believe Him and I receive His grace and He cleanses me and gives me a new me.

"Which is being renewed," and here we see an action that is progressive, meaning, it is still on going.  I'm being renewed.  So, there's no need to panic, for I believe this is the work of sanctification which takes place for as long as we are still walking on this earth.

And how does that sanctification happen? I believe Paul is saying that it is accomplished by the constant seeking of the knowledge of Jesus so we can become closer and closer to being what we were meant to be since the beginning: the image of our Creator.

I don't know if I'm even close to being right, but I have to keep the hope that God's mercy includes covering me with the providence of His patience.  For when I am weak, He is strong, and when I am prideful and impatient, He is loving and compassionate...and I put my hope on that...praying that I can stop the eye-roll as a sign of obedience and that I'm am still on the road to sanctification.  In the Precious Name of Jesus, My Redeemer and Friend.  Amen!