“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” (Romans 12:13)
Today is day 5 of our 13-day daily devotional on Romans 12! Paul has some important words for us in verse 13. He is going to take us back to the roots of the early church. I am afraid that we have lost these roots over the years. God calls true Christians to help meet the needs of other Christians. He calls them to show hospitality.
When I look at the first half of this verse, I cannot help but think of how the early church was described in Acts 4. The Bible says that there was not a single needy person among them (Acts 4:34). Not one. Why? How? Because many people were selling their land and houses and bringing the profits to the apostles, so that they could distribute the money to any who had need (Acts 4:34-35). How incredible is that?! That is how Christians treat their brothers and sisters. They are called to meet the needs of the believers around them.
I believe Christians have a specific call to meet the needs in the body of Christ. Do you see any needs in your church family? Can you meet those needs? It is crazy to think about in the world today, but what if there were zero needs in the body of Christ? What if we started selling things in order for all brothers and sisters to have their basic needs met? What a beautiful thing that would be!
Paul challenges us with hospitality in the second half of this verse. He wants to push us to open the doors of our homes and let others in. This can seem like a foreign idea, right? We like to be closed off and private these days. We like to have our own space. Christians, however, seek to show hospitality. I understand that this can be hard for some of us, but it is so life-giving. Who can you have over for dinner next week? Who can you invite over for a cup of coffee and an encouraging word? Take the step and do it. You will be glad that you did.
Verse 13 is a big one, in my opinion. It calls Christians to act like Christians. It calls the church to be the church. Let’s not wait. Let’s meet the needs of our brothers and sisters around us. Let’s make the effort to show hospitality. We may just start looking like the church in Acts 4. We may just flip the world upside down like they did. Join us back here again on Monday for verse 14! Enjoy your Sunday tomorrow!
Don’t forget to keep up with this study on our Facebook page!
- What are the needs around you that you could step up to meet?
- Is hospitality hard for you? If so, why do you think that is?