So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. – 1 Thessalonians 2:8
One of the special church fellowship activities this month is “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” As the name implies, the dinner guests find out who they will sit beside once they arrive at the host family. How exciting and “mysterious;” certainly adds a measure of suspense! Sharing hospitality with one another is a wonderful ministry that brings us together as a church. That’s a good thing for us. Peter urges us to “show hospitality to one another . . .” (1 Peter 4:9). In the 1st century (and beyond), “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” could have described the early Christian’s primary ways of spreading the gospel. Showing hospitality often meant providing housing for those traveling. There were no Holiday Inns or Hampton Inns. There were only homes. And rarely was it convenient and would often begin with a “Surprise Knock” on the door. It was a Christian act of charity or love unknown in the Roman world. But it was in the homes of Christians showing hospitality where the gospel witness flourished. Michael Green, in his Evangelism in the Early Church writes, “The sheer informality and relaxed atmosphere of the home, not to mention the hospitality which must often have gone with it, all helped to make this form of evangelism particularly successful.” The pagan philosopher Celsus (4th Century) complained about the Christians proselytizing in their homes: “It was in private houses that the wool workers and cobblers, the laundry workers and the yokels whom he [Celsus] so profoundly despised did their proselytizing, even the children were taught that if they believed they would become happy and make their home happy as well.” Might we see this describing one of the primary ways we at Christ’s Church spread the gospel? Have you invited your neighbors to your house? Prayerfully consider inviting your neighbors to your home. You will be modeling for your children a way of evangelism they will remember.
