“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (I Peter 4:9, ESV)
My mother loved having guests for dinner. She was an old-fashioned country-style cook, and the table would overflow with good things to eat. Like most children, I knew how to embarrass my parents without even trying. This incident happened when I was probably about four or five years old.
Once again, Mom had invited guests for Sunday dinner. I had this hospitality thing all figured out, so I took it upon myself to offer our guests a helpful little tip. I thoughtfully explained to them, “We had you to dinner today, so it’s your turn to have us come to your house.” This was NOT something I’d overheard Mom say and was then repeating! My brilliant little mind just decided that if we do something nice for you, then you owe us back. I suspect some might have that same attitude today.
THE MEANING OF HOSPITALITY
Luke 14 tells of a time when Jesus ate the Sabbath meal in the home of a Pharisee. The parable He told them that day taught the true meaning of hospitality. It isn’t about position and power. It is about kindness and love.
“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:12-13, ESV)
If we agree with the words of Jesus, then hospitality is much more than just sharing a good meal with our close circle of friends. It includes those we might not otherwise associate with, those who would be unable to repay our hospitality.
DIGGING DEEPER
What is the meaning of hospitality? The literal translation of the Greek word (philoxenos) means “stranger loving.” Biblical hospitality reaches beyond family and friends and ministers to others, even the strangers among us. We see hospitality in action within the early church. They fellowshipped together, broke bread together, prayed together, cared for the widows among them, and shared their resources so that no one suffered lack. True hospitality is selfless.
Biblical hospitality is not about entertaining; it is about demonstrating our love for others. When we open our homes, we also open our hearts.
Here is something else to think about. The Bible speaks of three distinct groups to whom we should offer hospitality: our fellow saints (Galatians 6:10), strangers (Hebrews 13:2), and our enemies (Romans 12:20). The first, our fellow believers, is the easiest. Hospitality to strangers often makes us a little uncomfortable. But our enemies? That can be challenging but biblical.
Remember, when we show hospitality, kindness, and concern to those around us, it is as if we are doing it unto the Lord Himself.
“Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.” (Ephesians 6:7, ESV)
PERSONAL REFLECTION
- When did you last invite someone into your home?
- Whom did you invite?
- How often do you host people in your home?
- Do you include those unable to reciprocate your hospitality?
Devotion by Mary Loudermilk
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