In the last verse, we were commanded to have charity toward one another. Of all the qualities of charity, in this verse, Peter chooses hospitality. Many think of hospitality as inviting people into your home. That is a big part of hospitality, but there is more to it than that.
Hospitality can be greeting new comers to church and making them feel welcomed. Hospitality can be cleaning the church building or in our case, setting up the meeting room for church.
I often think of Judy, our dear departed pianist. Her husband was an unbeliever and mentally ill. She loved to serve people and wanted to be hospitable by bringing people into her home, but she was not able to because of her circumstances. So she brought flowers and tasty treats from home to share with everyone at church during the coffee break.
Hospitality is serving others, and Judy was a great example of that. She did it enthusiastically.
One of the biggest deterrents to hospitality is disorganization. I have a huge problem with this. There are so many distractions that get in the way and before I know it another week has come and gone and I have not done anything to serve other in the way of hospitality except for my own family. Perhaps that is why Peter honed in on hospitality over all the other qualities of charity. Perhaps he knew it was far too easy to become self absorbed and distracted with other things and neglect serving others. Oh how I need to do better in this area!!
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