HOSPITALITY

“Biblical hospitality.” What does that look like?

Romans 12:13 – “Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

1 Peter 4:9 – “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

Hebrews 13:2 – “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

Oxford dictionary defines hospitality as “the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.”

I think back on the times I have been honored with a visit in someone’s home…as a young girl, my family was shown generous hospitality during a snowstorm. Our family of 5 stayed with their family of 6 for a few days, sharing their space and their food when we couldn’t get home. Three-hundred miles away from home as a college student, I was invited to the home of a staff member who’s son was my friend. They had a delicious meal waiting upon our arrival after church, and our hosts did not busy themselves with anything but visiting with us. As a missionary, I was asked to a lavish meal at the home of one of my wealthy students, whose mom served us like royalty. Another family invited me into their very humble home and offered me what they were having with a dose of love. While living in Italy as a young mother, I was often in my neighbor’s kitchen being force fed treats and espresso, while my toddlers indulged in candy and cookies. Ten years later, a few hundred kilometers north of that village, our neighbors in the Verona area offered their best to us often, always wanting us to linger over prosecco or coffee.

These examples informed how I want to share my life, too. I felt loved and wanted in those times. Someone’s home is their most personal offering to you.

I’ve always wanted my home to be a place of peace - a place of refreshment for the weary, provision for the hungry, laughter for the sad. Someone prayed that the walls of our home would be filled with laughter. A friend once told me that your home should be “a safe place to fall,” especially as our children are growing into adulthood and struggle with choices and important decisions. Most importantly, our family members should be able to feel loved and cared for, no matter what, to know that everyone loves, accepts and forgives them when necessary.

I love to feed people, feed their bellies and feed their souls. A good chat about important things, a soothing hug, a comforting cup of coffee or tea. Fellowship around a table of amazing food. I’m enriched by the expression of God’s image in the various faces around my table. Their stories have changed me, and brought me closer to God. My guest books are full of their greetings and I love to remember their visits.

We see in Acts 2 how the early church devoted themselves to being together: learning, fellowship, eating, and sharing everything they had. They didn’t consider anything as belonging only to themselves.

This healthy detachment from our “things” is part of biblical hospitality. If we are meant to share our lives with others, making sure no one is in need, then we must let go of the pristine floors, spotless furniture, and straightened rooms. We can’t be unwilling to share our tools or spaces. We have often said out loud, “it’s just stuff.”

And we must open our hearts as well as our doors. The above picture is from Thanksgiving a few years ago where we hosted family, young and old, immigrants, and visitors from around the world. In the hours after these 30+ people left my house, I was exhausted and overwhelmed and vowed to never do that again. But I guarantee, if you asked the elderly folks who were there if they had a wonderful time it would have been a resounding “yes!” Did the lonely older single lady and the foreign college student enjoy the day? Of course. Did the family from Ukraine want to stay and stay. Yep. Did my grandchildren learn how to sing “Happy Birthday” in several languages? Most of the time it is not about us, but about how God is using us to touch someone else, to welcome them into your home and life. And to God be all the glory, because it was He who sustained me and gave me what I needed to prepare, serve, talk to, and clean up after all those people. Which, pro tip: it’s okay to leave the dishes and clean up til morning so you can be present in the moment and enjoy those God has placed in your home. They won’t be there in the morning, but the dishes will.

Opening your home may be difficult. I’m often encouraged by a paragraph in the book Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist, where she encourages her readers to ‘start where you are.’ “I’m not talking about cooking as performance, or entertaining as a complicated choreography of competition and showing off. I’m talking about feeding someone with honesty and intimacy and love, about making your home a place where people are fiercely protected, even if just for a few hours, from the crush and cruelty of the day.”