Come On In! The Door Is Open!

hospitality - Come On In! The Door Is Open!

Distributing to the need of the saints, [be] given to hospitality. Romans 12:13

Jody was a minister’s daughter. People watched her every move and remembered her every word. In order to protect herself, Jody hid whatever she felt on the inside. The good of the family depended on her playing a role, so she became an actor playing a part on a stage. The real Jody—her likes, dislikes, weaknesses, and gifts—got lost in the shuffle.

The one word Jody used to describe her life then was “fear.” Jody couldn’t say that anyone truly “knew” her. In fact, no one had ever really pursued her with a caring desire to get to know her. That all began to change as God brought Bob into her life.

First attracted to Jody by her quiet gentleness, Bob gradually felt a deepened sense of compassion for this quiet lady who he sensed was at times very alone. Bob sensed that Jody had built protective walls around her, but that motivated him to care more deeply. God gave him supernatural patience as the protective walls slowly began to come down.

Jody’s unpredictable outbursts of rejection were difficult for Bob to handle, but God’s gracious love prevailed. When Bob got too close, Jody, in her fear, pushed him away, hoping deep down all the while that Bob wouldn’t stay away. He learned not to take the rejection personally, but instead to see it as Jody unintentionally testing him. Little by little, God’s perfect and accepting love, which “casts out fear” (1 John 4:18), began to take down Jody’s walls of protection.

What a demonstration of true loving hospitality! Bob, knowing he was risking rejection and hurt from this young woman, gave of himself anyway. This is a picture of the kind of love each of us should have for our spouses.

What can you do daily to make your spouse secure in your love?