Hello, my name is Raegan Holle. I am a world wide book critic out of Lincoln, Nebraska. I travel around the world Evaluating books so that you may know more about them and especially so that you may know more about the book Outlive Your Life. I am writing this for my religion 8 class for Mr. Weishaar.
The title of chapter 6, in Outlive Your Life, I’d “Open Your Door; Open Your Heart”. I think that that title, along with the overall theme which is hospitality, go together perfectly. Max Lucado states on page 56 and 57 that “It’s no accident that hospitality and hospital come from the same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: “You matter to me and to God.”” (Lucado 56-57). By opening up your house to others, you are giving them the strength that they mean something in their world and that someone cares for them. Max also states that “In the auditorium one person speaks; around the table everyone has a voice. Church services are on the clock. Around the table there is time to talk” (Lucado 56). When you invite someone over, you don’t just give them the confidence and strength that they mean something to someone, but you also have the opportunity to share the Word with them and help them form a relationship with Christ. Personally, I have not done a very good job of this. I haven’t invited others over to my home and table, I haven’t even taken a friend or stranger out to eat a burger and talk to them about any needs that they need, but also talk to them about Christ. I have not shown very good hospitality to others, and that is something that I would like to get better at.
Max Lucado made a couple of points that really stuck out to me and went along with the them hospitality well. Max states that “The Greek word for hospitality compounds two terms: love and stranger. All of us can welcome a guest we know and love. But can we welcome a stranger?” (Lucado 58). The last part of this quote, when Max asks if we can welcome a stranger, really stuck with me. As a sinful human, I would answer that question with a big fat NO, because it’s a stranger and we don’t know who they are, or what the are like. But as a Christian, we know that with the help of a God, we can accomplish anything, even if it is difficult or a little bit out of our comfort zone. The first part of that quote is also a major point that the author states, because it shows us that the word hospitality comes from a fruit of the spirit Word, which God encourages us to do. Christ encourages us to love others, and be hospitable.
Max tried to imply/the author’s goal was to inform the reader on how we can open up our home to even strangers. It might be a little bit out of our comfort zone, but with the help of God, we can do anything. We can make strangers feel welcome and create self-worth. Imagine if you were that stranger, imagine how good you would feel if you were invited over for dinner one night. You would feel like you have a purpose in this world and now you have self confidence.
