A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; - 1 Timothy 3v2
Rather than look at every single topic, I decided to just deal with those qualifications that ‘jump out at me’ and grab me on the day. I hope it is the Holy Spirit directing me, but maybe it is just something I feel the need to pause and consider in my own life.
‘Hospitable’ is the next word that grabbed my attention. The Greek word – philoxenos is easy enough. Xenos is a stranger, an outsider, or an alien. Philos, of course is a word for love. A xenophobe is one who is afraid of strangers. A xenophile is one who loves strangers, guests, or outsides.
It is obvious that the translators could have used the word xenophile here to describe the qualification for a pastor. A pastor must love ‘outsiders.’
This is not always easy, and it does require discernment to know the difference between those with needs and professional takers. I suspect however that most of us tend to ignore strangers than to be taken advantage of by them.
The key here though is a character trait. A pastor’s love must go outside both his own family and his own church. Both our homes and our churches need to have ‘open doors’ to receive those who have needs.
Obviously, there are limits to what we can physically or emotionally do, but being a xenophile must be part of a pastor’s character.
1 comment:
Whoa--I've never even noticed that word in there before--heard lots of sermons about the "husband of one wife" thing and the "blameless," but not the hospitable part. It is a very important quality. If a man doesn't care for people, how on earth can he minister to them?
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