Hospitality to Total Strangers

 

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1 Peter 4:9 Contemporary English Version

⁹ Welcome people into your home and don't grumble about it.

 

Oliver and Geraldine Lien were the foundation of the Adventist church in Iowa City. Oliver was head elder, and Genevieve was the church treasurer. While we were there, I was elected an elder in the church. She told me that one of the duties of an elder in a small church was to be hospitable to strangers who came into town and called the church seeking hospitality—usually a bed for the night but sometimes just a meal.

One time he passed a call on to me from an older couple who were Adventist missionaries in a far eastern country. They were on furlough and just passing through. They were full of the grace of God and stories of their experiences. They had served there for many years and were quite mystified by modern American life. They drove an old car that looked like it had more than the usual number of miles on it. I didn’t learn how they got the car, or who owned it. They were headed east to visit family and friends and planned to be there for several months.

Having recently returned from five years of mission work in Tanzania, we understood a lot of their feelings and empathized with them fully. We encouraged them to stop by on their way west. They did, indeed, stop by on their way west several months later. They were headed back to their mission field and another three years or more of service. They exuded a glow of the joy of the Lord which they shared liberally with us.

All visitors were not of the same caliber as these. One such stole a sizable sum of cash from my brother, who was also visiting us. He had spoken glowingly of attending his Adventist church back in Texas and sharing in their Sunday church potlucks. That should have warned me that he might be dangerous. Christ spoke of having naïve followers, and I have been made aware that I have fallen into that classification on more than one occasion.

We still rejoice in that special visit from our missionary friends. We value the experience immensely and wouldn’t trade it for anything. In our current situation in a California metropolis, we sense only too well the problems the unhoused bring to our community. What would Christ have done and how would He have lived if He had come to America in the 21^st century?

Lord, thank You for encouraging us to show hospitality even though it backfires on occasion.

 

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Christian Love for Fellows

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2 Thessalonians 1:3 Good News Translation

³ Our friends, we must thank God at all times for you. It is right for us to do so, because your faith is growing so much and the love each of you has for the others is becoming greater.

 

When I graduated from Andrews University, I married Sylvia, and we moved to the University of Iowa so I could get a master’s degree. Then we were already committed to go as missionaries to Africa. [Later we returned to Iowa City after a 5-year stint in Tanzania.] One of the first things we did in Iowa City was to find the Adventist Church. They had no building of their own but rented space to meet on Sabbath from the St. Mark’s United Methodist Church there.

The Adventist church had about 20 members. There were two families from the faculty of the University, both in the School of Dentistry. Some students attended who came and went as their education directed them, and there were several families who lived in the area and were not connected to the university.

Our pastor was also the pastor of a much bigger church in Cedar Rapids, about 25 miles north. He divided his time between the two churches, roughly by the different memberships. The most we saw of him was every second Sabbath. Usually, a church elder preached on the Sabbaths that the Pastor was not with us. I learned to give a sermon there quite frequently, and it was graciously received.

The church members organized a potluck every Sabbath. The food was always good. On one occasion, luck would have it that everyone brought desserts. I confess that it was a special meal for me. We learned to know each other and tried to help each other’s needs.

An older couple, Oliver and Geraldine Lien took us under their special mentorship. For most of the time we were there, he was the head elder and she the treasurer of the church.  I could expect a call every Sunday morning from Geraldine: “The amount you have written on tithe envelope differs from the amount on your check. What do you want me to do with the extra money?”

I would apologize. At the time I had no calculator and only bought one for myself as a graduation present when I graduated with a PhD in Mathematics, ten years later.

She would respond, “You would think a graduate math student would be able to add a few figures correctly!” We both laughed heartily.

We held a prayer meeting regularly every Wednesday evening. Some of the time it was at the Liens or one of the other member’s homes, and sometimes it was at our apartment. During Sabbath Schools, and at the prayer meetings and potlucks, we would have excellent discussions about spiritual interests. We often came with different opinions, and this led to interesting thoughts. Yet we never got so defensive of our own opinions that it divided the church.

Thank You, Lord, for providing us with a loving and caring church home while I was in grad school. I’m sure it fostered a loving home in our family.

 

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