Summer’s a time for drinking water. It’s hot outside and at a certain point there’s only so much you can do to cool off. Earlier this summer I went kayaking with a friend and I forgot to load my water bottle on the boat with me before we set out from the shore. So, there I was – out in the heat and exposed to the sun for hours. The lake taunted me in my thirst by surrounding me with water I could touch but couldn’t drink. When we got back to the cars, my water bottle was waiting for me and it could not have been a more welcome sight. Parched with thirst, the only thing I needed right then was a drink of water.
Our last four articles have all been about hospitality – and there’s a good reason for that. Hospitality in our culture today is like a cold drink of water on a hot summer’s day. It couldn’t be more timely.
The world is more connected now than ever. The internet allows us to communicate with people around the world in real time. Many of us carry small computers in our pockets that would have been science fiction a mere twenty years ago. There are dozens of websites and apps that let us parade our friends in front of us in a constant feed. Every year the world becomes a smaller and smaller place. However, this connection hasn’t necessarily made for a stronger sense of community. Depression and suicide are both on the rise in the United States today. We live in a connected world, but don’t confuse that with living in a community.
Acts 2:42-47 offers a different picture:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
The gospel of Jesus Christ offers us more than connection. It offers us community: community with God and community with each other. Acts 2 teaches us that relationship, not mere connection, is essential to life in the Christian church. Brothers and sisters, this is the cup of cold water that so many of us and our neighbors need. We need more than retweets and Snapchat filters. We need more than small talk about the weather and sports teams. We need the deeper relationships that come from living our lives together – sharing meals, bearing each other’s burdens, worshipping together. In a world that is longing for genuine relationships, one of the timeliest gifts we can offer is hospitality. As Christ welcomes us, so we welcome others.