Read Acts 16:26-34 in your personal Bible or at the link provided.
Review
1. What was the jailer’s first question to Paul and Silas?
2. How did they respond to him?
3. What actions did he take to show them hospitality in return?
Reflect
In the wake of a terrifying earthquake, the jailer witnessed evidence of Jesus. And just like Lydia did earlier, the jailer responded with faith, which quickly turned to hospitality. The jailer was baptized with water, and then he used water to wash Paul and Silas’s physical wounds. The jailer found a home with God, and then he opened his home to Paul and Silas, setting a meal before them.
This is the perfect example of hospitality. The word ‘hospitality’ shares the same Greek word as ‘hospital,’ and the jailer’s actions give us a template to follow. It means caring for physical wounds, providing meals to nourish and strengthen those who come, and creating a space where people leave more whole than when they arrived.
Have you ever thought of hospitality in this way? What keeps you from doing these things? What small ways can you extend a selfless kind of hospitality this week? It doesn’t have to be radical or extravagant. Let God use you wherever you are, however He leads, with whatever you have.
Respond
Pray through today’s reading, reflecting on the questions just posed. What do you think God is prompting you to do in response? Write it down, share it with a friend, and take a step to start making it happen.