“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13 (NLT)
What images come to mind when you hear the word ‘hospitality’? I often think of a dining table with a beautiful center piece and flickering candle light. I think of expertly prepared meals in a warm and cozy environment. When I flip through magazines or browse pinterest, I see suggestions on how to decorate homes and sumptuous recipes to make that will wow the guests.
The dictionary defines ‘hospitality’ as “the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” Hotel chains are considered part of the ‘hospitality industry.’ A good hotel is known for how it treats its guests: a comfortable stay, good service, guidance on touring the area, and meeting whatever need arises. The Bible describes hospitality as a required quality for leaders in the church. The scriptures also admonish all Christians to practice hospitality, “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13
So what does hospitality mean for us as Christians?
Much of what we view as hospitality in our culture involves the details and arrangements behind hospitality. Decorating, recipes, coordinating linens, ambient lighting and music can often become the focus of hospitality. Unfortunately, we often focus so much on the details that we neglect the real heart of hospitality.
The heart of hospitality is service.
It’s a condition of the heart whereby the host is more concerned about her guests and cares little about their impression of her decorating or cooking skills. Hospitality stems from gratitude for all the blessings we’ve been given in Christ. It then overflows into a desire to give and share those blessings with others. Hospitality desires to meet the needs of others. It is also a means to help facilitate community and growth in Christ.
While hospitality can involve candlelight and beautiful china, that is not the end goal. Biblical hospitality is the call of all Christians. In the New Testament, hospitality was primarily about opening ones home to people who needed a place to stay and food to eat. It was the Christians in the early church who provided lodging for the disciples as they traveled to spread the gospel. Hospitality was also demonstrated by opening ones home for church meetings. The Bible’s perspective on hospitality is that it’s not so much about hosting parties for ones friends, but more about being willing to open ones home to share with those in need and facilitate Christian community.
It’s important that we all practice hospitality. We need to be prayerful for opportunities to extend blessing to others. We also need to be cautious that we don’t become encumbered by the details. If the details are causing us to worry or stress about opening our homes, it’s a good indication that our focus isn’t on the heart of hospitality.
Because Biblical hospitality requires an open heart before an open door.
All this month we are exploring what it means to be hospitable. Please check in with us next week for more on this topic.
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What a wonderful reminder of true hospitality! This brings to mind Mary and Martha. Martha was so worried about the physical side of service that she neglected her time with Jesus! Jesus’ gentle rebuke is an important reminder to us all that people, not the “ambiance” should be our focus. Thanks for a great blog!
It continues to challenge us, when we think about how “hospitable” our churches are to those in need of Christ. Especially with the quote above, “Biblical hospitality requires an open heart before an open door.” Are we ready for who God may bring our way? Thanks for the reminder!
The believers are in the world to reflect the love of Jesus Christ. Every believer has homes, and any house where Jesus Christ is the Lord can be the setting for welcoming everybody in the name of Jesus.
CHRISTIAN HOSPITALITY
Christian hospitality differs from social
entertaining. Entertaining focuses on
the host–the home must be spotless;
the food must be well prepared and
abundant; the host must appear relaxed
and good-natured. Hospitality, by contrast,
focuses on the guests. Their needs–whether
for a place to stay, nourishing food, a
listening ear, or acceptance–are the primary
concern. Hospitality can happen in a messy
home. It can happen around a dinner table
where the main dish is canned soup. It can
even happen while the host and the guest
are doing chores together.
Don’t hesitate to offer hospitality just
because you are too tired, too busy, or
not wealthy enough to entertain.
Thank you so much for this post. I needed to hear this. I’m pretty sure that hospitality is one of my top gifts but I can get carried away with things sometimes. I really appreciated your description of what true Christian hospitality means. I will be having 21 additional people (plus our family of 5) staying in my home next week for 5 days. I gotta say I’m a bit excited about being able to do this, because I enjoy cooking for crowds but I have been too focused on the details of decorating and serving the food and having every inch of my house spotless… I need to do a little reality check and make sure my heart is ready to serve and not grumble. (I know I wont be grumbling about cooking but I might about other things). Can’t wait to read the next post on this topic!
Thank you so much for this post. I needed to hear this.
CHRISTIAN HOSPITALITY