Ruth Palma-Volantin is regional Habitat Development Council manager at Habitat for Humanity International. Read her Advent reflection below.
Christmas means celebration. Christians celebrate the day Jesus was born to give humanity the best present we could have — His love. While on Earth, Jesus also taught us numerous ways to show love to others: He fed the hungry, took care of the marginalized and healed the sick. He loves because that is His nature. When Jesus gave His own precious life for our eternal life, He performed the ultimate act of love.
Hebrews 13:1–2 are two of the many Bible verses that exhort us to love strangers and show hospitality. Christians need to be generous, kind, considerate and thoughtful. It is easy to love our family members and friends, and we express our love to them in different ways, such as preparing their favourite meals, offering help and spending time together. Still, in a world full of work, activities and distractions, signs of love to others are not as common as we would like.
It is a blessing that within Habitat, we positively affect the lives of families we serve in need of housing in 70 countries. If you are part of a community or a church, you most likely have had the opportunity to participate in activities to help its members.
But what about loving others? We are commanded to love one another without distinction and to love everyone — including strangers and enemies — in tangible ways. For many people, it is not easy to fulfil this command. How can we be motivated to do it? We need to remember how Jesus loves us — without conditions or expectations, but with compassion and mercy.
In this Advent season, Jesus invites us to extend our love beyond Habitat’s mission and our common circles by manifesting hospitality to serve others and give good testimony of our Christian faith. Identify strangers who you can show tangible love: a neighbour you never talked to before, an employee of a local store or a homeless person you pass by. If you think for a moment, there are a lot of opportunities to show love in your daily life.
A neighbour recently sent a message to my cell phone. She needed to talk to someone. Even though I had a busy evening with many things to do, I agreed to spend time with her. What I thought would be a 15-minute conversation ended up lasting five hours. At the end, she thanked me for listening to her situation and for my advice. I was grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to demonstrate patience and love to another person, especially during a difficult time.
As Christians, we need to be ready. We never know when God will put us in the right place to show love to others, and perhaps we will show hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for teaching us through Your precious Son Jesus how to love and serve others. In this week and throughout the Advent season, please prepare our hearts to be kind and sensitive to those in need of love and affection. Give us guidance and humility to fulfil the command to love others just the way You love us. Thank You for the opportunity to show others what Christian love means. Allow us to give good testimony of our faith. I ask this through Christ our Lord, amen.
