“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:42-47
When I was heading into my third year of University, I moved into a community house. Our house was a house of single, Christian ladies that came together to live and do life with the hope of growing closer to God and extending the vision and ministry that is read about in Acts 2. We wanted our house to be a place for people to come and experience community with one another and with Jesus. Our desire was to invite people in to share life with us by having an open door policy . . . something very different from our ‘what’s mine is mine’, fence building North American culture. Since what we were doing was so counter cultural, we needed to be willing to sacrifice, to seek God for help and guidance and to take some series notes from Acts 2. What was so special about Acts 2? The people we read about there came together and shared, served, ate, spent time with God together, and invited others in to experience that as well. So to start, our house compiled all our food and put a specified amount of money in a communal money pot to buy our house groceries. Then we each chose a night of the week to be in charge of cooking for the rest of the house (at one point there were six ladies living in our four bedroom house . . . that was six nights of the week covered with meals)! We took turns leading a devotional time together once a week and we would spend our downtime, either in the mornings or evenings, reading our Bibles in the same room, and encouraging each other to seek Jesus. We also hosted a free breakfast every Saturday morning for the young adults in our community (whether Christian or not) to come eat, drink coffee and hang out. Sometimes we would have one person show up . . . sometimes we would have thirty. People came for the free food, but they often stayed late into the afternoon to play games, chat, and hang out. This time in my life was some of the sweetest times of community and of Jesus that I’ve ever experienced. It wasn’t perfect. Just like the church in Acts 2, we had our fair share of arguments, frustrations, and divisive moments . . . (just keep reading into Acts 3 if you want to see how that played out for them!). But God was good and used our hearts for Him and for hospitality to bless us and our community beyond what we could have ever imagined.
WHAT IS HOSPITALITY?
Often times when we think of the word hospitality we think of inviting people over to the magazine cover of a Martha Stewart house: cute aprons, an array of baked goods, a meticulously clean house, and a delicious home cooked meal set up neatly on the table with a seasonal tablescape. But to associate hospitality with these images is to do a disservice to what it means to be hospitable. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to invite people over to your house, to have everything set up nice and to serve delicious food. Serving, inviting, and blessing . . . these are all parts of being hospitable. But, what about if you don’t have a house? What about if you live in an era when a world-wide pandemic shakes everything up and it becomes illegal to invite anyone into your home? Is the invitation in Scripture for Christians to be hospitable only linked to those who have homes and can offer the best of the best entertainment for their guests? No! Jesus, the one who did all things perfectly, was also the perfect example of how we are to live our lives and how we are to love and treat other people. That means that Jesus, the wandering Son of God who didn’t have a home, is our best example of how to be hospitable.
JESUS HAS BEEN HOSPITABLE TO YOU
Have you heard the parable of the king and the banquet? In Luke 14, Jesus tells a story of a King who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sends servants out to invite all of his friends, but each of them decline the invite. However, the banquet has already been prepared and the King does not want the celebration to be cancelled or the food to go to waste. So, he tells the servants to go out and invite anyone they can find: “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (verse 21) and to invite them into the castle and to the feast. Everyone has been invited – no exclusions! But, it is only those who choose to accept the invitation that will get to participate in the party and enjoy the feast. The same goes for God’s Kingdom! All have been invited. You have been invited. He has welcomed you in – no matter who you are, what you have, or what you’ve done. If you’ve chosen to accept that invitation you are participating in the grand pre-party for the King of Kings! God has been hospitable to you: inviting, welcoming and loving you. And, just as Jesus tells us to forgive as we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32) and to love as we have been shown love by Him (John 13:34), I believe that the same can be said for hospitality. Be hospitable and look for opportunities to make people feel welcome because Jesus has been hospitable to you.
“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
Romans 15:7
BEING HOSPITABLE LIKE JESUS
In Romans 12, shortly after Paul shares about spiritual gifts, he identifies why they are important. The reason that the Holy Spirit gives us gifts is not for any selfish gain or to make us look cool and important; rather, it is so that we can love one another like Jesus. For humans, we have to learn how to love. For Jesus, it is who He is and so the more we get to know Him, the more we understand and can live out the true beauty of what it means to love one another. Paul shares that we can love one another by being devoted to each other, by honoring others above ourselves, by sharing, blessing, rejoicing together AND by practicing hospitality. If hospitality is another way that we can put love into action then I can guarantee you that Jesus was a master at it.
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.”
Romans 12:9-16
The official definition of hospitality is: “the friendly and generous reception of guests, visitors, or strangers.” Honestly, this is one of the things that Jesus was the best at (among a million other things!). The Gospels are full of stories of Jesus being friendly and lovingly welcoming all people. When others turned up their noses towards the sick, the unwanted, the poor, and the sinners, Jesus welcomed them in with open arms declaring that there is room for them in the Kingdom of God.
Being hospitable like Jesus stems from loving like Jesus. Right now, in the strange climate of 2021, it means going to work, the grocery store, the mall, or on a walk with your dog with a desire and willingness to love on those you encounter and, if presented with the opportunity, to share with them the good news and invite them in to the Kingdom of Heaven. I am not great at this. When I go out to run errands, which is all we are really allowed to go out and do now a days, I am on a mission. I head into the grocery store with my list, fill up my cart efficiently, pay and head on out. If I remember to be intentional with those I encounter it is usually always with the cashier . . . on my way out. But Jesus’ welcoming and friendly example is a reminder (and challenge) to me. Even if it is not culturally acceptable and normal to like the unlikable people, to talk to strangers, and to go meet the new neighbours – I want to choose to be the weird person who goes out of their way to intentionally do these things because it is what Jesus would do – it is hospitable.
HOW IS GOD CALLING YOU TO BE UNCONVENTIONALLY HOSPITABLE?
One summer a few years ago, my Children’s Ministry intern and I were doing a spiritual gifts test together. I wanted her to figure out how God has uniquely gifted her so that she could use those gifts to serve in her job while running our day camp and summer kid’s discipleship. One of the top gifts on her list was ‘hospitality’. She shared with me her desire to one day have her own house where she could have people over, feed them and spend time with them. Then she asked: “how can I use that gift while at my job?” It was in that moment that I realized that hospitality is not connected solely to welcoming someone into your home. We prayed about it and asked God how she could be hospitable while at work. It was then that she saw that she could come to work and be the most welcoming and friendly person with those she encountered – either on a Sunday morning while teaching preschool, at the park visiting with the families during our park and play events, or during day camp, making the kids feel loved and welcomed for our week with them. You see, she realized (through the help and discernment of the Holy Spirit) that she could love people by being hospitable outside of her home. And we are called to do the same. So, here is my question and challenge for you to take time to discern: how can you, in a season where it is illegal to have people over to your house, share the love of Jesus by being hospitable?
Written by: Justine Joy
Refined Joy 