Person of Peace
Felicity Dale (from “Simply Church“) has been writing a series of posts on Luke 10. Her latest post is called “How do you recognize a person of peace?”
She says:
A person of peace offers you hospitality. What does that look like in today’s society? You may not get invited into a home (although in my experience, that is not uncommon). Let’s say you have just started a new job, and after you’ve been there a few days, the lady in the office who everyone seems to revolve around says to you, “Some of us from the office go out for drinks on Fridays after work. Â Would you like to join us?” Â What has she done? She has offered you hospitality. Â She’s opening up her circle of friends to you.
Lately, our church has been talking about missional discipleship – although we don’t necessarily call it that. What is “missional discipleship”? It is going outside the walls and boundaries of the “church” not only to evangelism but even more to make disciples. It means meeting people where they are in their own environment and help them grow in maturity in Christ and then help them disciple their friends and neighbors and co-workers, etc.
Thus, the idea of finding a “person of peace” becomes very important. What do you think of Felicity’s description?
What Felicity Dale describes is a good thing, but I would call it sociability or fellowship, not hospitality. To be hospitable is to place your resources at the disposal of someone who is currently in need of them. To invite a friend to supper is sociable; to provide a traveler with a bed and a meal is hospitable.
Rick, I agree with you – to a point. However, without sociability or fellowship, hospitality is often made much more difficult, if not impossible.
That coworker, in the office environment, will often not (by choice, or by the simple dynamics of what is “allowed” there) open up enough for you to even know what his/her needs are.
On the other hand, at supper or at the coffee shop or bar, the atmosphere of sociability/fellowship is far more likely to allow people to be honest and open about themselves, so that you can in turn “place your resources at the disposal” of the person and their needs.