“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:12-14).

 “It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth” (3 John 1:7-8).

Hospitality is biblical. Radical Hospitality is one of five core values for staff at Nashville Rescue Mission and our focus for the month of May. Have you ever stopped to ponder what this term really means, especially in terms of how to be radically hospitable? Let’s break it down.

• The dictionary definition of hospitality is the friendly reception and treatment of guests.
•  A guest is anyone who is not a “host.” Guests can be family, friends, neighbors, or strangers. Anyone who steps onto the NRM Campus who is not staff would be a guest.
• Hosts are those who are in a position to welcome family, friends, neighbors, or strangers. Any/all staff at NRM would be deemed to be a host by our guests.

So, we as staff are each in a position to welcome any guest who visits NRM for any reason, for any length of time. To be (just plain) hospitable means that we would receive them and treat them in a friendly manner. None of that seems radical, unless we think that extending friendliness to everyone is radical, but I think you would agree that even this is a given. One way to define this friendly manner, over and above the obvious, is to think about any exceptionally great customer service treatment that you have received. That is how we should welcome and treat our guests.

Perhaps the term “radical” applies to our definition of “friendly reception and treatment.” For sure, there would be degrees of treatment, from a friendly greeting, to an offer of food, to an offer of an overnight stay, to an offer of more intensive services to include case management or counseling.

If you dig further into a definition of “radical,” you may become more confused than ever before, because there is an array of meanings attached to this word. The closest, which does not really seem close, applies to a person who is an extremist—who varies significantly from what we would define as normal—in a certain area. We don’t usually think of radical extremism as a good thing, but did you know that Jesus and his disciples were considered extremists by the religious leaders of their day?

Here’s what Got Questions, says about the word “radical:”

• The decision to follow Christ is itself a call to radical living. Jesus said that “anyone who wants to follow Me must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
• That command is at extreme odds with our flesh’s desire to please itself (Romans 7:21–23).
• It challenges worldly wisdom, which preaches self-fulfillment as our highest aim (1 John 2:15–17).
• The cross is a radical thing, and declaring Jesus as Lord of our lives involves a dethroning of Self and a complete abandonment to His will. We must be willing to go where He leads, do what He says, and love Him more than life itself (Matthew 10:37–38).
• The lifestyle changes that follow such a commitment are considered radical by those who fall within the world’s definition of “normal.”

In summary, radical hospitality is defined as Selfless Service. Here are ways that Selfless Service could play out, and I bet you can think of others:

• Extending friendly hospitality even when we don’t feel like it.
• Extending friendly hospitality even when the guest is being difficult (or worse).
• Taking no consideration of the ability of the guest to reciprocate in any way.
• Focusing on the needs of the guest first, really listening, and trying to find a way to meet their needs without first focusing on our own needs or the convenience of the Mission.
• Praying over each guest before, during, and after any interaction and genuinely and intentionally seeking their own welfare.

I’m not saying we should allow guests to “run all over us.” I’m not saying that radical hospitality is always saying “yes.” But we can be gentle and positive, patient and kind, even when we are firm. We should make every effort to be “radically, selflessly hospitable” every time unless it would be harmful to someone else to do so.

This verse has always made me stop and think. “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).

After all, Jesus told us in Matthew 25:40 “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

In Christ,

Judy

“Now to him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

This is Nashville Rescue Mission’s first core value, and the underpinning of all our other core values. We “value” this core value of extravagant faith even more when we are in survival mode such as the ice storm and power outages of last week. In fact, as I write this, I am trying to finish before my computer battery dies.

The battery provides an interesting analogy; one that we used in an earlier Chaplain’s Corner entitled “Rechargeable.” Of course, we recharge our devices using a power source that is subject to the whims of nature. But the Holy Spirit is not subject to the whims of nature; in fact, the whims of nature are subject to Him. The Holy Spirit is a much more trustworthy power source.

To understand extravagant faith, we must first understand faith. Faith is the means by which we receive the gift of salvation. It is similar to trust. In Hebrews 11:1, we learn that “…faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” And Paul writes: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it (salvation) is the gift of God— (Ephesians 2:8). For example, it was the faith of Abraham that was his righteousness. ^“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness’.” (Romans 4:20-22).

Have you ever watched a movie where someone has been pushed over a cliff or roof and is hanging on to the edge for dear life? Someone sends a rope or hand, but in order to grab onto the rope, the person has to let go of the cliff. Easier said than done. Or perhaps the only way off the island is to push off into the current that is only going in one direction, hoping it will go toward eventual rescue. Or someone we know needs material assistance which will require our giving sacrificially, not knowing if we will be repaid. In each case, we must let go the feeble hold we have on this life and material things and grab on to the life that Jesus offers. This, my friends, is extravagant faith. Trusting (letting go)  so that God can save us; so that He can do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.”

What is also interesting is that opening our hands to let go also results in opening our hands to receive. Jesus tells us that he is “the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We stay connected to the vine by faith—by trusting in His Word. We may think that if we have enough faith, we can do great things. However, we in and of ourselves will never do great things. It is only God, working through us as we are connected to Him BY FAITH, that we will bear much fruit. It is the Holy Spirit working through us that is doing the bearing. In receiving power through our connection to the vine (power source) we are allowing ourselves to be used for God’s extravagant purposes.

It is the same with prayer. We may think that if only we had enough faith, God would do what we ask of Him in our prayers. But that is not how it works. With extravagant faith, we trust God to answer our prayers with the best possible outcome for all concerned for all time.

Extravagant faith is the means to salvation and our journey to sanctification and glorification. We acknowledge that we are sinners and unable to save ourselves except by the grace of God. When the jailor asked Paul what he must do to be saved, Paul told him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Salvation comes through believing that Jesus is who He says He is and that He can do what He says He will do.

Open your heart and open your hands to receive the glorious gift of salvation. If you have never done this before, then right now, just stop and talk to God about it. Tell him you want to accept His gift of salvation. Acknowledge your need for the saving grace that only He can provide, ask Him to come into your heart and transform your life. Thank Him and then find someone to talk to about this. I would love to hear from you and to talk with you more about your decision. God has amazing plans in store for all those who trust and obey. Now, let us grab on to the rope, push off into the current, and follow Jesus. Have faith! Follow Jesus!

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10).

In Christ,

Judy