Week 6 - Hospitality
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
March 22-28
Throughout human history travelers in unfamiliar lands needed, sought for, and longed for food, shelter, and safety. It was a survival mechanism that relied on the trust between two strangers - the host and the guest. While people today think of hospitality a bit differently, it is still rooted in trust, safety, nourishment, and, to an extent, vulnerability.
God calls us to be hospitable. It is an active practice of having faith, showing generosity, and loving unconditionally. But God also instructs us to approach hospitality with few things in mind:
We must serve using our God-given gifts and strengths so that He may be glorified, with love, and without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:8-11). Reflect the awesome resourcefulness of God and all that He has given us and tap into the creativity and spontaneity of life. Scheduling something is great - It shows you're planning your life with them in mind. But random texts to go to Barrel on a slow Thursday night or catching a movie at the Air and Space Museum could be as memorable methods of showing hospitality. Practice caring all the time, not just when the doors are knocked. Plus. when you're having fun, there is no need to grumble!
We're not to neglect hospitality to strangers (Hebrews 13:2). The heart of biblical hospitality is welcoming strangers into community. Think of a new member in CG, a new coworker, the old man with the cane and his dog you see on the streets sometimes, or maybe that couple that sits in your section every Sunday whose names you don't know. Welcome them into your homes, your workplace, and your hearts. If we are truly to be witnesses to Christ in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the world, we can't settle for sharing our lives with just the most convenient or closest. Look for the misunderstood, unknown, and the lonely. Share your joy, community, and life with them, and see those blessings grow as strangers become family.
We must be persistent yet meaningful with our hospitality (Luke 11:5-10). We are called to do all things for the glory of the Lord. Seek out ways to serve people persistently - follow up with small talks, go out of your way to visit your friends and be an eager guest to them, share baked goods with your coworkers for no particular occasion, and build upon the God-given opportunities to be hospitable. Enlist the help of your friends to maintain persistence. That way you invite them to share that opportunity and joy of serving others without it becoming a chore or a burden.
Hospitality is not just opening our homes. Open your eyes to see who needs a friend. Open your ears to hear their life story. Open your hearts to be a brother or a sister, not just in Christ, but also in life.
Lastly, rest by opening your heart to God’s hospitality. Let Him wash your feet, nourish, refresh, and safeguard you, for He is the ultimate refuge and He is good.
Rich Kang
Questions to Ponder:
What is the most memorable time that you have been shown hospitality?
What did that time make you feel?
Who has God placed in your life that you feel called to extend hospitality to?