Text: Romans 15:1-7, Matthew 22:36-40
Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
– Romans 15:7, ESV
Last year’s office party at the boss’s house. A dinner party under perfectly twinkling lights in a neighbor’s garden. Brunch on a bride’s Southern aunt’s veranda. Hospitality shows up in a lot of ways, but often we imagine a big to-do. It is entertaining at its finest, done best by those with specific giftings, reserved for special occasions.
It’s a shame when we box up hospitality in entertaining. We lose sight of the true spiritual significance behind it, and in doing so we rob ourselves and others of the blessings God intends to come through it.
“In our culture, the concept of hospitality has lost much of its power and is often used in circles where we are more prone to expect a watered down piety than a serious search for authentic Christian spirituality. But still, if there is any concept worth restoring to its original depth and evocative potential, it is the concept of hospitality. It is one of the riches biblical terms that can deepen and broaden our insight in our relationships to our fellow human beings.”
– Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out
The Greek word for hospitality is philoxenos. Phileo meaning “brotherly love,” and xenos for “strangers.” God’s original design for hospitality is extending ourselves in love to strangers. It’s not only hosting dinner parties on special occasions with people we know, but embracing a posture of the heart to welcome even—and especially— those we don’t.
We extend love first. First love, then know.
God Himself extends His life in invitation to us. Jesus Christ was the Ultimate Inviter. He beckoned disciples with a simple “Follow me,” received children by saying “Come to me,” invited strangers to “Walk with me,” and welcomed sinners to the table, saying, “Eat with me.” And then, in extension of glorious invitation, He gave His life on a cross for us. Because of the Cross, our life in Christ opens us up to becoming a people of audacious invitation, too.
The love Jesus gives to us, we pour back out to others. Love for strangers is inviting a new neighbor over for a casual coffee while you fold laundry. It’s knowing the names of the people who bag your groceries. It’s offering the spare room in your house to the young girl trying to figure out what’s next in life. It’s offering encouragement to the young mom in tears with a screaming toddler in the middle of Target. Maybe it’s even inviting her to lunch after she confesses she has no one to help her.
We love because He loves.
We welcome because He welcomed.
We invite because He invited.
We posture our hearts to welcome others in response to the invitation we have been given through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
A life of invitation begins in the soil of a heart cultivated by the love of the Father.
Lord, posture our hearts toward heaven and give us opportunities to extend our lives in invitation. Make us a people who invite others into our lives, because you first invited us into yours.
Logan Wolfram is the Executive Director of Allume who most loves to write, connect, and encourage women. Daughter of a most extravagant and hospitable King, wife to Jeremy, and mother to 2 wild and inquisitive little boys, her days are filled with a combination of routine and plenty of the unexpected.
I love the idea of entertaining and having people in my home. The planning part is a delight to me. The reality of the actual doing it is not as fun. My house is very small, my parents, and one young adult son live with me, I work full time…you can imagine my house is not perfect and when I do entertain there are long stressful weeks in our house- by the time the event rolls around I am exhausted. My take away from this lesson is I CAN BE BIBLICALLY HOSPITABLE WITHOUT INVITING PEOPLE INTO MY HOME!!! I can take brownies to the new couple that just moved in, smile and say hi to strangers I pass, tell a complete stranger they look pretty today, offer to help a stressed out young mom, tell a mom with well behaved children she is doing a good job, buy someone lunch or coffee! The options are endless. Jesus was hospitable and had no home…
This brings me back to a study on neighbors. Who is my neighbor and how do I get to know them. My neighbor is everyone I see, meet, speak to. And today’s reading helps complete the action. Love, welcome, invite…just as Jesus loved, welcomed and invited me. This is very radical when you think about it. Jesus is so cool.
What if there’s someone you don’t “click” with? Do you keep putting effort in or spend time with them just because they want to?
That’s a very fair and honest question! I have wondered the same thing often. I think the answer is yes and no. Keep prayerfully inviting and ministering to that person until you know it’s time to allow some space. On the one hand you never know what God might have planned for them and it could be a matter of them letting down their walls in order for you to truly know them. On the other hand, if you truly struggle with having an authentic connection with them, pray for God to bring another friend across their path to be able to invite them in! I think if you keep seeking to know God’s heart for them, in time, you will see your place in their life (for whatever season that looks like!)
It brought tears to my eyes to think of all of the simple opportunities we pass each day to offer words of encouragement. Great reminder.
I am enjoying this as it reaffirms what my parents taught me growing up. I really appreciate this quote too, “The love Jesus gives to us, we pour back out to others. Love for strangers is inviting a new neighbor over for a casual coffee while you fold laundry. It’s knowing the names of the people who bag your groceries. It’s offering the spare room in your house to the young girl trying to figure out what’s next in life. It’s offering encouragement to the young mom in tears with a screaming toddler in the middle of Target. Maybe it’s even inviting her to lunch after she confesses she has no one to help her.”
I admit i havent been very good at hospitality and making people feel welcome. Thanks for another great & inspiring post. God bless.
this read is like an oitment on my heart – it hurts, but also soothes. i’ve been strugling with hospitality for a while. . .worrying that my house is not clean enough or food is not fancy enough. i love the idea of having people over even when I am doing something, it sounds relaxing and so true to what everyday lives are. Thank you for this amazing message.