To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mMe_sFvk5os
SHOW NOTES
Welcome to a new week of the Hope Rescue Podcast. If this is your first time visiting, hello! We are so happy you are here. You can watch all our podcasts on YouTube or you can listen on any podcast platform. You can search our archive on any platform to find a podcast episode that may spark your interest. We've talked about everything from shame to boundaries to blended families to marriage, and so much more! If you want to hear the story behind why Tim and Kimberly started the podcast in the first place, go back to our very first episode. This week we are continuing our short series breaking down Micah 6:8 which says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Ask yourself, “How do I generally feel about people who are different from me?” Are you welcoming to strangers? Do you feel uncomfortable when someone who has different political views or different morals is around? The word xenophobic describes a person who has fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. Xenophobia is derived from the ancient Greek word xénos which means "stranger" or "foreigner." Romans 12:12-13 tells us how to respond to those who are different from us: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” The Greek word for hospitality is filoxenía. Look familiar? The same word for stranger is coupled with the word “filo” which means “love.” It literally means to show love to strangers. Now ask yourself, “How much time do I spend loving people who are different from me?”
Kimberly says, “We are all image-bearers of God, and our Father longs for us to celebrate the things we have in common and not emphasize that which divides us.” Being hospitable to strangers doesn’t mean we have to invite them into our homes. We can all find creative ways to show kindness and be hospitable, whether it’s taking someone out to lunch or coffee and giving them our time. Hospitality is the act of connecting with someone and helping meet a need. Hebrews 13:1-2 says, "Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Tim says, “The most important thing we can do when interacting with someone who has been marginalized in society is to commiserate with them and empathize with what they have experienced.” Listen to their story, hear what they have to say, enter into their world. First Peter 4:9-10 says, "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” When you show the Biblical ethic of kindness to a stranger, it comes from genuine compassion within the heart. It comes out of feeling empathy for another person, and it comes from seeing others as image-bearers of God.
First Timothy 5:10 says, "and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.” God is not only calling us to love strangers but He is requiring it. To “love kindness” is to show love and hospitality for all people, whether they are the same as you or different. This means regardless of race, gender, morals, political views, or religion, we are required to love and be hospitable to others.
Join us next week as we wrap up our short series by talking about humility! Thanks for reading along. We love you guys!
QUOTES
“We are all image bearers of God, and our Father longs for us to celebrate the things we have in common and not emphasize that which divides us.” -Kimberly
“The most important thing we can do when interacting with someone who has been marginalized in society is to commiserate with them and empathize with what they have experienced.” -Tim
REFERENCED SCRIPTURE
Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Hebrews 13:1-2 "Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
1 Peter 4:9-10 "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace”
1 Timothy 5:10 "and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.”
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