Saturday, August 1, 2026
Anchor Scripture (KJV)
“Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.”
— Romans 12:13 (KJV)
Devotional
It is possible to be surrounded by people and still feel forgotten.
Someone can sit in a crowded room and wonder whether anyone would notice if they quietly left. A neighbor can live beside us for years while carrying burdens we never see. Even in churches, workplaces, and families, there are people who sometimes feel as though they are standing just outside the circle.
Walking with Christ should teach us to notice them.
Paul tells believers to be “given to hospitality.”
Hospitality is often associated with inviting someone into our home or sharing a meal, and those are wonderful expressions of it. But the heart behind hospitality reaches further.
It says, “There is room for you here.”
Jesus continually made room for people.
He welcomed children when others wanted to send them away. He ate with people whom respectable society avoided. He stopped for those calling from the roadside. He spoke with people others preferred not to acknowledge.
Jesus had a way of letting people know they had been seen.
That is something we can do too.
Making room for someone does not always require setting another place at the dinner table. Sometimes it means moving over and inviting someone to sit beside us. It can mean including the person who usually gets overlooked, introducing ourselves to someone standing alone, or taking enough interest in another person’s life to remember their name.
Small actions can say something powerful:
You matter.
You are welcome.
You have not been forgotten.
There are people who may enter our pathway carrying loneliness we will never fully understand. We may not be able to remove that loneliness, but we can refuse to add to it by walking past without noticing.
When Christ’s love shapes our walk, there should always be a little room beside us for someone else.
Reflection
Who around you might be feeling overlooked or forgotten?
Do you naturally make room for people who are unfamiliar to you, or only for those with whom you are already comfortable?
Could someone experience the welcome of Christ through you today?
Pathway Step
Today, notice someone who might normally remain outside your circle.
Take the first step.
Introduce yourself. Invite them to sit with you. Include them in a conversation. Call someone who has been alone. Share a cup of coffee or a meal. Ask a sincere question and take time to listen to the answer.
Do not make the moment about what you have done.
Simply make room.
Let someone know through your actions that there is a place for them beside you.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for welcoming me through Jesus Christ. Give me eyes to see those who feel forgotten, overlooked, or alone.
Keep me from becoming so comfortable within my own circle that I fail to notice someone standing outside it. Give me a welcoming heart, a generous spirit, and the willingness to make room for others.
May someone experience the love of Christ today because I was willing to notice them.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow we will consider how our everyday walk becomes a witness when the love of Christ can be seen in the way we live.
Closing Encouragement
There may be someone along your pathway today who does not need a sermon.
They may simply need to know that somebody sees them.
Move over.
Make room.
And let the welcome you have received from Christ become the welcome you extend to someone else.