Tuesday, October 21, 2025

New Testament Reading Plan: Revelation 8

We naturally walk toward comfort, not calling. We want to protect our time, space, and peace. Yet when we follow Jesus, he invites us into something far more meaningful. Romans 15:7 urges,

“Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.”

This kind of acceptance, this hospitality, isn’t about setting a table or offering a smile. It’s about opening our hearts the way Jesus opened his to us: fully, sacrificially, and without condition. True hospitality isn’t convenient; it’s courageous. It costs us something, often our time, energy, comfort, or control. It also carries the power to change lives.

When Christ came, he didn’t limit his love to those who looked, lived, or believed like him. Romans 15:9 reminds us his mercy reached beyond the familiar, “so that the Gentiles might give glory to God.” Jesus’ love broke barriers. He welcomed the unworthy and served those who could give him nothing in return. That’s risky hospitality.

Every time we welcome someone who feels unseen or out of place, we reflect that same love. Maybe it’s inviting a neighbor to dinner even though the house isn’t spotless. Maybe it’s saying yes to a conversation that stretches your patience. Perhaps it’s showing kindness to someone who has been repeatedly rude to you.

For me, hospitality is one of my spiritual gifts, but it hasn’t always been easy to live out. It is one that the Spirit has to continue to nurture, prune, and fertilize. Growing up in a home marked by dysfunction, I learned early to be cautious with my trust. Opening my heart sometimes felt unsafe. BUT GOD keeps showing me that hospitality isn’t just about who I invite in, it’s about allowing him to heal what I’ve kept closed. Each time I choose to extend kindness, he expands my capacity for love. It’s not perfection he’s after; it’s willingness. And when I offer even a small piece of myself to serve someone else, he meets me there with presence, power, and promise.

Comfort says, “protect yourself.” But the call of Christ says, “pour yourself out.” Hospitality doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be willing. Because when we open our hearts, God’s glory fills the room.

Questions:
Who in your life might need to experience God’s welcome through you right now? How can you take steps to make that introduction?

What personal comfort or boundary are you being called to release to love courageously?

How have you seen God’s glory revealed through simple, sacrificial acts of kindness?

Next Steps:
This week, intentionally create space for someone who might feel overlooked. Invite them into your world through a meal, a message, or a moment of genuine attention. Trust God to work through your obedience.

Prayer:
Lord, help me resist the pull toward comfort and choose your calling instead. Teach me to love like you: courageously .... generously ... without condition. May my open heart, hands, and home bring you glory. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Colossians 1:6
This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

This post was written by Monique Myers, a Perrysburg attendee and regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.