Whose Face Do You See?

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it. (Hebrews 13:1–2 NLT)

“What’s the matter, honey?”

I heard her voice before I saw her face. My own face was bent into my hands, covered in tears. A lot was the matter, and I didn’t know how to fix it. But when I looked up into that kind face above mine, I saw Jesus standing there.

The summer after college, I traveled across the country with a music tour. Halfway through, my family called me to come home—Dad might not make it this time, they said.

A week later, after we’d confirmed that Dad would make it, my sister bought me a Greyhound bus ticket to rejoin my tour group. Unfortunately, when I got to Omaha, I discovered they were still four hours away—a geographical miscalculation that left me sitting in the bus station at 10 p.m., imagining what could befall a young woman in a place like that in the seedier part of Omaha.

I had no money, no credit cards, no one to call. With an alcoholic father, I’d been on my own for a while, but this was the first time I’d been completely alone with no safety net and no idea what to do. Sobbing in the worn blue-gray plastic chair seemed to be my only best option.

That’s when I heard her question: “What’s the matter, honey?”

I looked up into a face I’d seen on the bus. I’d heard her at our lunch stop talking about Jesus.

I poured out my tale to the strange woman. “And . . . and I guess I’m staying here in the bus station until I can find a way to buy a ticket.” I sobbed out the last sentence.

She shook her head and said, “No, you’re coming home with me tonight, honey.”

Ivy drove us to her side of town. When we arrived, she offered me a snack, pulling out what looked like her entire pantry for my benefit. In the end, she saw I felt far more tired than hungry, so she led me to an upstairs room with a guest bed that was once her daughter’s. She insisted I use her best nightgown. (I’d left my luggage with the tour group, so I had nothing with me.)

The next morning, her husband handed me bus fare to get to my group. “Just send it back when you can,” he said. We both knew it would be a while before I could send him that check. He probably assumed I’d forget anyway. But it didn’t seem to matter.

What Scripture Says about Hospitality

In the cold, dark days of a month like February, hospitality counts for more, I think. We all need that personal contact to remember other life is out there beyond the snow banks. (Here in Chicago, anyway.)

Hospitality in Scripture is a concept rich in meaning. First Peter 4:8–9 says, “Show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay” (NLT).

In Scripture, the word hospitality means “love of strangers.” That’s exactly what my new friend did for me that night. From the moment she noticed me trying to hold back sobs in a bus station chair, she showed deep love for me—even though I was a stranger who probably couldn’t return the favor. She did it cheerfully, as Peter instructs, regardless of what little she actually had to share. Her unbelievable love for a stranger covered any number of sins made by my family and my own miscalculations that put me in that situation in the first place.

Now when I’m tempted to worry about the piles of mail on the counter and the cat hair floating out from under the bookshelves in my own home, I remember Ivy. Instead of noticing the mess, I try to notice others and ask, “What’s the matter, honey?”

Did Ivy cause me to open my home to college students from another country who needed a place for Christmas?

Is it Ivy’s face I imagine when my daughter asks, “Hey, we have room for six, right?” Or when someone says, “I brought a few friends for dinner. Hope that’s okay.”

Did Ivy cause me to offer a room to the young man addicted to heroin, even though people warned me he wouldn’t be a good stranger to show love to? Did I think of her when I stayed up half the night with him, talking about life, God, and maybe taking another road?

Ivy was the best example of hospitality I’ve ever experienced and probably ever will. When I saw her face leaning over my tear-streaked one, I saw Jesus. I saw Jesus reaching across racial, economic, and social lines, asking, How can I love you, stranger?

Except no one is a stranger to Jesus. Ivy knew that.

Father, thank you for showing me love when I was a stranger to you. Show me the stranger near me, or perhaps the one who’s not a stranger but whose need is unknown to me. Make me aware. Give me the courage to risk. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection

Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

Then your salvation will come like the dawn. (Isaiah 58:7–8 NLT)

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. (Romans 12:13 NLT)

Reach for More

Think of someone you know who needs an extra helping of love. How can your home be a place of warmth and welcome this month? What practical step can you take right now to make that person feel loved?

Jill Richardson is a writer, speaker, pastor, mom of three, and author of five books. She likes to travel, grow flowers, read Tolkien, and research her next project. She believes in Jesus, grace, restoration, kindness, justice, and dark chocolate. Her passion is partnering with the next generation of faith. Jill blogs at jillmrichardson.com.