【双语灵修】以款待去跨越障碍HOSPITALITY BRIDGES BARRIERS

希伯来书 13:1-3

你们务要常存弟兄相爱的心。不可忘记用爱心接待客旅，因为曾有接待客旅的，不知不觉就接待了天使。你们要记念被捆绑的人，好像与他们同受捆绑；也要记念遭苦害的人，想到自己也在肉身之内。

2月16日

以款待去跨越障碍

「不可忘记用爱心接待客旅，因为曾有接待客旅的，不知不觉就接待了天使。」 -来 13:2

在菲律宾帕奈岛宣教的第一年，我还是单身。有一天，我听到有人敲门，原来是劳尔牧师和他的妻子瓦莱丽。劳尔是我几年前在内格罗斯岛的一个学生。他们因为要参加一个会议，提前几天来到这里。他们告诉我，要在我的家住几天。

我大吃一惊，不知该说什么好！我不习惯有人在没有预先通知的情况下在我家出现，而且还要和我同住，但我有空出的房间，也没有合理的理由拒绝他们——所以不知怎么的，主引导我说：「好吧」。

这帮助我认识到道菲律宾人热情好客（所以我需要向他们学习）。此外，我很快就意识到，他们没有电话去提前通知我，所以他们也不会对我抱有太高的期望。虽然这需要我改变计划，并付出额外的努力，但一切都很顺利，他们的到来让我加倍蒙福。

款待他人能以令人惊叹的方式消除各种障碍，尤其是在跨文化环境中。这不仅需要敞开我们的家门，也需要敞开我们的心扉。通过款待他人这座桥梁，福音往往就很容易被传出去。

祷告

主啊，帮助我们明白向他人敞开家门和心扉的喜乐。愿我们在分享祢的恩赐时荣耀祢。阿们。

HOSPITALITY BRIDGES BARRIERS

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

During my first year as a missionary on Panay Island in the Philippines, while I was still single, I heard someone knocking at my gate. It was Pastor Raul and his wife, Valerie, and they informed me that they would stay with me for a few days. Raul had been one of my students a couple years earlier on Negros Island. They had arrived a few days early for a conference.

I was astounded and didn’t know what to say! I wasn’t used to having someone show up at my home unannounced and say they were going to stay with me. But I had an extra room, and there was no real reason to turn them away—so somehow the Lord led me to say, “Okay.”

It helped that I understood that Filipinos are masters at hospitality (so I needed to learn from them). In addition, I soon realized that, of course, there was no phone for informing me in advance, and that my guests wouldn’t expect too much of me. Though this called for a change of plans and some extra effort on my part, it worked out fine, and I was blessed by my guests’ presence.

Hospitality bridges all kinds of barriers in amazing ways, especially in cross-cultural situations. And it’s about opening not only our homes but also our hearts. The gospel often travels easily across this bridge.

Help us, Lord, to discover the joys of opening our homes and hearts to others. May we honor you in sharing the gifts you give us. Amen.