Hospitality?

(10.08.21– Only The Lonely –3 John:1-8 )

My friend, may I ask you a question? Can it be that no good could ever come from being isolated? What was my graffiti friend trying to tell me?

My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.

I'm M. Clifford Brunner.

I used to drive, as an everyday driver, an old car called a Corvair; an at the time forty-year-old car with an air-cooled, rear engine. For some people that seemed risky. When they looked at an old car like that, they saw forty-year old ball joints, pistons, bearings and heater fans. However, there was really only one aspect of driving the car that bothered me. Since Corvair engines were air-cooled, there was a very critical fan belt that traveled from the cooling fan over a pulley and down to the crankshaft. When that belt broke, the engine would quickly overheat. I'd learned over the years to always carry a spare belt and the proper tools for removing the old one and installing the new one. I learned this, however, only after suffering a breakdown on a very lonely back road with nothing but a very distant farmhouse in sight.

There I sat, as it was getting dark. This was a day before cell phones so I knew I had to walk the mile or so to the farmhouse and ask to call for a tow. When I arrived at the house and knocked, a stocky man in bib overalls opened the door. I told him my plight and asked to use his phone. He hesitated for a moment and then did something that I didn’t expect. He said that he had a wall of belts out in the shed, and one of them was bound to fit. I thanked him but declined, saying I wasn’t dressed properly to do the job. "Don't worry!" he said. "I'll give you a hand!" He pulled out the old Farmall Tractor and we sputtered down the lane toward my stranded car. He quickly extracted the shredded belt and matched it up with one of equal length from a clutch of belts he had brought with him. A wrench, screwdriver and crowbar later, it was installed and I was ready to go. I thanked him and offered to pay him. "No." he said. "But you could come up to the house and have a cup of coffee with me and my wife." An hour or so later, I was on the road again; a lesson in mechanics and preparedness richer, a coffee warmer, and a heart filled with Farmall hospitality.

I'm sure that my hosts that evening, their routine rudely interrupted by a stranger at the door, were put out, so to speak. I'm sure that their evening chores were interrupted. Yet, they took the time to give of themselves to someone who was all alone and helpless. I was a stranger and they were "faithful" to a brother just like the Bible asks us to be. Unfortunately, theirs' is a brand of hospitality that is becoming rare in this increasingly unfriendly and mistrusting world. We live in a society that's self-centered; chafing against the idea of being kind to strangers. That's why it's more important than ever for Christians to take the lead and show hospitality whenever we can. A world, such as this, leaves a lot of lonely and searching people in its wake. It’s up to us to find them, fix them up and give them a simple cup of Christian kindness.

We pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we live in a time where so many of us are afraid of strangers. We are so fearful that we often err on the side of fead as opposed to trust. Unfortunately, theirs' is a brand of hospitality that is becoming rare in this increasingly unfriendly and mistrusting world around us. We live in a society that's self-centered; chafing against the idea of being kind to strangers. That's why it's more important than ever for Christians to take the lead and show hospitality whenever we can. Forgive us Lord when we adopt the world’s attitude that no one can be trusted. A world, such as this, leaves a lot of lonely and searching people in its wake. It’s up to us to find them, fix them up and give them a simple cup of Christian kindness. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.

If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to ”This Passing Day!”

<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.

Hospitality?

(10.08.21– Only The Lonely –3 John:1-8 )

My friend, may I ask you a question? Can it be that no good could ever come from being isolated? What was my graffiti friend trying to tell me?

My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.

I'm M. Clifford Brunner.

I used to drive, as an everyday driver, an old car called a Corvair; an at the time forty-year-old car with an air-cooled, rear engine. For some people that seemed risky. When they looked at an old car like that, they saw forty-year old ball joints, pistons, bearings and heater fans. However, there was really only one aspect of driving the car that bothered me. Since Corvair engines were air-cooled, there was a very critical fan belt that traveled from the cooling fan over a pulley and down to the crankshaft. When that belt broke, the engine would quickly overheat. I'd learned over the years to always carry a spare belt and the proper tools for removing the old one and installing the new one. I learned this, however, only after suffering a breakdown on a very lonely back road with nothing but a very distant farmhouse in sight.

There I sat, as it was getting dark. This was a day before cell phones so I knew I had to walk the mile or so to the farmhouse and ask to call for a tow. When I arrived at the house and knocked, a stocky man in bib overalls opened the door. I told him my plight and asked to use his phone. He hesitated for a moment and then did something that I didn’t expect. He said that he had a wall of belts out in the shed, and one of them was bound to fit. I thanked him but declined, saying I wasn’t dressed properly to do the job. "Don't worry!" he said. "I'll give you a hand!" He pulled out the old Farmall Tractor and we sputtered down the lane toward my stranded car. He quickly extracted the shredded belt and matched it up with one of equal length from a clutch of belts he had brought with him. A wrench, screwdriver and crowbar later, it was installed and I was ready to go. I thanked him and offered to pay him. "No." he said. "But you could come up to the house and have a cup of coffee with me and my wife." An hour or so later, I was on the road again; a lesson in mechanics and preparedness richer, a coffee warmer, and a heart filled with Farmall hospitality.

I'm sure that my hosts that evening, their routine rudely interrupted by a stranger at the door, were put out, so to speak. I'm sure that their evening chores were interrupted. Yet, they took the time to give of themselves to someone who was all alone and helpless. I was a stranger and they were "faithful" to a brother just like the Bible asks us to be. Unfortunately, theirs' is a brand of hospitality that is becoming rare in this increasingly unfriendly and mistrusting world. We live in a society that's self-centered; chafing against the idea of being kind to strangers. That's why it's more important than ever for Christians to take the lead and show hospitality whenever we can. A world, such as this, leaves a lot of lonely and searching people in its wake. It’s up to us to find them, fix them up and give them a simple cup of Christian kindness.

We pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we live in a time where so many of us are afraid of strangers. We are so fearful that we often err on the side of fead as opposed to trust. Unfortunately, theirs' is a brand of hospitality that is becoming rare in this increasingly unfriendly and mistrusting world around us. We live in a society that's self-centered; chafing against the idea of being kind to strangers. That's why it's more important than ever for Christians to take the lead and show hospitality whenever we can. Forgive us Lord when we adopt the world’s attitude that no one can be trusted. A world, such as this, leaves a lot of lonely and searching people in its wake. It’s up to us to find them, fix them up and give them a simple cup of Christian kindness. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.

If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to ”This Passing Day!”

<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.