We had 21 souls in our home for dinner last night! It’s a common practice in our household. But we didn’t just wake up one morning and for the first time decided to invite all those fine people for a meal. Over the years my wife and I have surrounded ourselves with people who are seasoned at hospitality. They invited us over when we were young in our married life, when we only had one child and they continue to do it as our family has increased in numbers. They have refreshed my family and me. Let’s face it: hosting a family of seven is not for wimps! But yet, they have gone out of their way to make us feel comfortable and satisfied.
It is hard to express the level of gratitude I have for the hundreds of meals prepared out of love and devotion. In turn, we have worked hard at imitating those who practice hospitality so generously. Yet, I am grieved by how the apostles’ imperatives (Heb. 13:2; I Pet. 4:9) are so often overlooked in the evangelical community. It’s often that I hear visitors to our congregation and outside our community state with some level of sadness, that they have never or rarely been invited by a Christian to someone’s home for a simple meal. Yes, they have probably experienced what we call in the South, “Potluck meals,” but that is different from the experience of particularized hospitality the Bible has in mind.
The Church and the individual family miss a genuine opportunity to serve one another, to hear each others’ stories, and give out of the abundance given to us in Christ Jesus. Indeed, hospitality is the overflow of God’s love for us. We host because God has hosted us in his house (Ps. 23). I love the way Lauren Winner describes this in her book, Mudhouse Sabbath:
“We are not meant simply to invite people into our homes, but also to invite them into our lives. Having guests and visitors, if we do it right, is not an imposition, because we are not meant to rearrange our lives for our guests – we are meant to invite our guests to enter into our lives as they are.”
What I wish to do in this short series is to encourage you to see how practical and pleasing it is to do hospitality. It doesn’t demand the most expensive wine bottle nor does it demand the most extroverted host, it only demands a willing heart to see the Gospel made known in the midst of unfolded laundry and wildly active children.
Who can host? The family of seven, the newly-wed couple, the single young man, and anyone who can spare some change for a noble cause. For many of you who have never practiced this Christian gift, you can begin small and inexpensively, but what you can’t do is leave it up for the right opportunity. The right opportunity comes when you make it. Begin small and you will see the joy and celebration that overtakes a house that is known for her hospitality.
[…] Introduction, Part 1, Part 2 […]