Hospitality: a Call for all Believers

We often think of hospitality as welcoming or serving others by way of food and drink. This is a common way to express hospitality but it’s by no means exhaustive. 

Hospitality is welcoming both guests and strangers with warmness and generosity. This can be through a shared or delivered meal, hosting overnight guests, or even something as simple as a sincere conversation to make an “outsider” feel welcome. It doesn’t require a fancy house or an extravagant budget.

Hospitality is for every season

Since we’ve been married, we’ve hosted simple but joy-filled dinners for friends and strangers in our home in 4 very different living situations - from our 600 sq ft concrete block apartment to the home we have now.

It’s pride that tempts us to think our current space isn’t good enough for guests. If God has blessed you with anything, you can steward it for His glory.

I’ve been invited to fancy events with picture-perfect setups and felt like an outsider but served hotdogs on the couch by near-strangers and felt more welcomed and loved than I could have possibly imagined. Hospitality isn’t about entertaining. It’s about welcoming & serving others for the glory of God. 

And while we may tend to think of it as “women’s work,” throughout Scripture hospitality is commended as something all Christians should strive to demonstrate. It’s even a qualification for those who serve as elders (Titus 1:8, 1 Timothy 3:2).

Serving others is serving God

It’s important to note hospitality is not something to be reserved only for close friends, family, or fellow church members, but is something we extend to strangers as well. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were commanded to love the foreigners residing in their land as they would their own families (Leviticus 19:33-34).

Jesus drove this point home in the gospels when He taught that to meet the tangible needs of the hungry, sick, strangers, or otherwise “least of these,” it’s as if we are serving Christ Himself in the same manner (Matthew 25:34-40).

Today, showing hospitality looks a thousand different ways for different people in various cultures and contexts, but the heart is the same: love your neighbor as yourself, welcoming them as you would your own family.