We are all innkeepers…
Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have. "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
The innkeeper had his inn on a lonely stretch of road, in a very dangerous place. An innkeeper is responsible for bandaging up, helping out, and listening to those that God brings our way. We pour out our lives, tell our stories, and wait for those we wait on to get better. Sometimes those that we have helped out and poured into leave; that is okay, perhaps they were meant to be in our life for a short time, perhaps, they too, are called to the life of an innkeeper. An innkeeper is a lonely but fulfilling life, We won't get fully paid in this lifetime, but our payment will be enough when we see Jesus, our Innkeeper, who found us on a lonely stretch of road, on the way to nowhere, who took us in, bandaged us up, and committed Himself to us until we were well enough to live again.
Many thanks to Ruth Patterson, from Ireland, who related this passage of scripture to us at Saint Simons, Georgia.
"What you are willing to give your life for says who you are."
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