During 2020, in the months after COVID-19 was detected in Australia, we became accustomed to all manner of social restrictions, and especially so in Victoria with their lengthy lockdowns. We discovered that, for most people, social isolation is not an easy thing to deal with. For extroverts and their need to connect and communicate and share ideas it was challenging. For introverts and their need to have space to think, to process things, it may have given some welcome relief perhaps.
Imagine yourself in your local town. For a long time, there has been a person with a disability sitting outside but near the entrance to the local supermarket. The person has a container in front of them to receive donations, plus a note about their situation. The person may or may not be receiving any NDIS support; you don’t know. You are used to seeing this person sitting there. Perhaps they simply want to be near other people?
While I was out walking today (the day of writing this), I heard women’s voices coming closer from behind me. I turned to see two younger women walking quickly while speaking in a language I did not recognise. They were totally engrossed in conversation as they then walked past me, perhaps oblivious to their surroundings. Has that happened to you – totally engrossed in conversation with a friend, oblivious to anyone else nearby? Totally focused on what is being shared. I can identify with that!
Extending hospitality today is likely to be much more casual than it was in biblical times, although that, too, can depend on how strong the traditions are in the culture of our personal context. For example, Asian and Indian customs may be quite different from our laid-back Aussie customs.
Read the full Bible Study …
Receiving “new things” “New” is what is given to us through Christ Jesus, and worked in, and into, us by the Holy Spirit, our God-given Helper. Last month we took time in Isaiah 43, where the Lord says, “See, I am doing a new thing”, using the metaphor or picture of bringing life into dry wasteland, relating that to his people. It’s amazing that every day the Lord is doing new things! He makes everything …
See, I am doing a new thing The Lord likes to be involved in our lives. He has created us to be in relationship with him, yet he also values highly the freedom he has given us to choose, whether we will go our own way, away from him; or whether we will trust him and let him lead us into his best for us. We are not robots. We freely receive from the Lord …