Oldie but Goodie Repost
What does it mean to practice hospitality?
I recently had the opportunity to utilize my home as a ministry tool and host two sisters in Christ for a week. As you might guess if you frequent my Home Management posts, this was a bit of a mountaintop moment for me.
However, hospitality isn’t confined to being a gracious hostess. It is not itself comfortable furniture and fresh linens, hot coffee and home cooking. If it was, Martha would not have received Jesus’ gentle rebuke. Indeed, “not being a Martha” was very much on my mind throughout the week.
The Heart of Hospitality
At least three New Testament passages address hospitality directly, and through them, we begin to see what practicing hospitality looks like.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. –Romans 12:10-13
Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. –Hebrews 13:1-2
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. -1 Peter 4:8-10
Not a single domestic chore in sight, but rather the common thread, the heart of hospitality, is love.
Love in Action
Love manifests in service – anticipated needs, outward-facing concern, the outpouring of response to God’s grace. That very grace, we receive at the cross of Christ. Undeserved, too rich for repayment, and eternally sufficient. Hospitality strives to model that love in the here and now.
It is a sacrificial love, as the quiet cautions of Scripture show. Not lagging behind… Do not neglect… Without complaint… Investing in the lives of others in meaningful, need-meeting ways necessitates the sacrifice of time and resources. In the week while our guests were here, I managed to write only a single blog post and formatted a short story. Hospitality has a cost.
All for Jesus
We’re to practice hospitality habitually, not just on special occasions. As with any practice, we’re not always going to get it quite right. There will be times when we could have done more, or things we could have done better.
However, when Jesus pictures hospitality for us in Matthew 25:34-40, we see that what we do to meet the needs around us indeed matters, but not nearly as much as the fact that, “to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (verse 40).
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the grace You give, withholding not even Your Son to restore our relationship with You. Please teach my heart to love in response, and provide the opportunities to put that love into action as unto You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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