Paul links two expressions of Christian community: meeting material needs and extending hospitality. The early church understood these as inseparable—when believers gathered around tables, they shared both food and fellowship, both physical provision and spiritual encouragement. Hospitality in the biblical sense means more than entertaining friends or hosting dinner parties for social equals. It means opening our homes and lives to those who cannot repay, welcoming the stranger, making room at our tables for those who have nowhere else to go. This practice flows from remembering that we were once strangers welcomed by God, outsiders brought near by Christ's blood.

The early church took this command seriously. Acts 2:46 tells us they "broke bread from house to house" and ate together "with gladness and singleness of heart." When persecution scattered believers from Jerusalem, those who fled were welcomed into homes throughout the Roman world (Acts 8:1-4). The apostle John commended Gaius for his hospitality to traveling ministers: "Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers" (3 John 1:5). The writer of Hebrews urged, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2). This culture of radical welcome became a distinguishing mark of Christianity. Believers opened their homes not occasionally but habitually, not selectively but generously, reflecting the God who opened heaven to welcome prodigals home.

Prayer: Hospitable God, You opened heaven to welcome us home. Teach us to open our homes, our tables, and our hearts to welcome others. Make us generous in spirit and practical in love, reflecting Your welcome to all who enter our lives. Amen.