https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/07/real-hospitality
It didn’t happen often but there were times during my Varsity days when I had to skip a meal or downgrade a meal to something simpler like a packet of nasi lemak or just roti canai because I had ran out of money that month. I remembered that my pastor then was perplexed that I didn’t have RM35 to buy a set of bass strings back in 1988/89 so that I could take the church’s spare bass home and practice. Those were difficult times but we could survive a whole year of public university study on a RM3,500 PSD (JPA) loan plus a monthly allowance of RM100 from my dad – just about RM5,000 a year. Nowadays, 30 plus years later, a local private university student needs at least RM5,000 A MONTH to cover tuition fees, accommodation and food. A plate of mixed rice was RM1.40 then and even though things were relatively cheap, our shoe string budget still meant that we needed to ration our money for every meal. What I’m trying to say is that putting aside the value of money, the lifestyle was also quite different, compared to now. For example, eating fast food or at shopping centres was considered a mini-luxury when nowadays it is just another regular meal.
I was thus very touched when someone offered to buy me a meal. Not likely from a fellow student, usually from a working adult or an uncle or auntie who is a professional. Or just getting to eat a home-cooked meal. This is because for every meal that I need not use my own money, I have extra and that will help me go for a better next meal. It is an act of little kindness but it goes a long way for me the student struggling with limited resources. It is an act that also had lasting impressions that sort of personified the kindness and love of God in tangible form, especially if that person buying us a meal is also a believer.
That is why I truly believe that showing God’s love need not always be about preaching a powerful message or planting a church or reaching out to thousands but just a little act of kindness. There will always a rightful place for the Billy Grahams of the world or for that all powerful ministry of deliverance and healing, signs and wonders to demonstrate the power and reality of God that Jesus Christ is alive today and yet it is those little acts of kindness that are more accessible to most of us and will have a lasting impression on those around us.
Rebecca was special as she offered Abraham’s servant, a stranger, a drink and gave water to his camels. We are special too when we offer hospitality to others when they least expect. Let us become a tangible instrument for God’s love even as we dwell into the finer details of His Word. Faith is real when practiced! It is not a mere concept in the mind or for theological discussion. Practice kindness and see God move in our midst!
Ronnie's Thoughts 