Don’t even have to leave the couch…

When you think of successful evangelists and missionaries, you think of godly men and women serving in Africa, or the gifted preacher announcing the gospel to the thousands… But as I read the scriptures and reflect on experience some of the best evangelism can happen in the comfort of your own home – you don’t even have to leave the couch.

The home was an important place for the early church – that is where people met for church, where Christians could show compassion and care for the needs of the saints and the stranger.

This is especially the case in our society where we have lost that sense of community. Family don’t live near each other, we work in a different place to where we live and play, we don’t know our neighbours… we have lost a sense of belonging that I think is important to our emotional health and general relational well-being.

As Christians Christ calls us to love our neigbours and this love cannot be content with words. This love is a call to It show real compassion, hospitality and generosity. It is a call for radical hopsitality in all its messiness; It is a call to welcome the stranger into our homes, to sit at our table, no matter what the barrier might be.

When you read Hebrews 13:2 you can’t but help think about the far-reaching implications for our willingness to extend hospitality.