Lillian Daniel: Plan to Be an Outstanding Houseguest

"My hope is that my visit with you is going to be one of Christ's more extravagant blessings." - Romans 15:29 

Whoa, who talks like that? Who has the arrogance to ask to come visit you, eat your food and stay in your guestroom and then goes on to tell you how fantastic it will be for you?  And yet that is exactly what Paul says when he writes this letter to the early church in Rome before his visit. He implies that the experience of hosting him will be "one of Christ's more extravagant blessings." 

I can just see his hosts reading this letter before his visit and saying, "Well, if you do say so yourself, Paul! In the meantime, we have to wash the sheets, change the cat litter and get ready for company." 

But of course, Paul wasn't thinking about all that. I imagine he was excited about the prayers they would be able to say together as old friends and new ones. He was eager to see them and expected they were equally eager to see him, not because they were such amazing people but because Christ would be there too. 

When we take our egos out of the mix and add God instead, it makes Paul's statement less arrogant and more touching. And it turns out he was right. His visit must have been a blessing because two thousand years later, we're still reading his letters to his friends. 

Prayer  

When I am a guest, let me be a blessing. When I am a host, let me get out of the way and allow you to host, most gracious God. Amen.

From UCC's StillSpeaking Devotionals. Visit UCC.org