And I got down off the running board, and they drove off, scratching their heads. I think that doing things like that, doing unexpected and completely gratuitous acts of love and kindness, is part of what it's all about. I feel certain that the world would be affected, if Christians everywhere made random acts of grace and kindness a part of our lives. Another practice which grew out of the experience of the early church, was hospitality . Those early Christians were notorious for the way they took people into their own homes.
Hospitality is such a simple gift.
Over and over again, my wife and I have been amazed at peoples' reaction, when we invite them over for a meal. This world has become so busy, and so fragmented, and so isolated in daily life, that the simple gift of welcome, the simple offer of time, has become both precious and unexpected. The early Christians were also very famous for their work for the freedom of others. In those first early centuries, a great many Christians were slaves. Slavery was common.