HOLY HOSPITALITY

PHILIPPIANS 3:3-5 NIV
”Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

In the 1940s, my grandpa used a portion of his weekly check and bought stones from the quarry in Kansas City where he worked. Bit by bit, he and his brothers built a home on his acreage in the middle of the city: three small bedrooms, one bath, a spacious living room, a small eat-in kitchen, and by comparison, a humongous dining room. That house became a warm and welcoming home, and I think about it often. It’s the place where family gathered every single Sunday. It's the place where I was always welcomed to drop by–with or without a gaggle of friends. It's the place where something warm and nourishing was always on the stove. It's the place where I could bring happiness or sadness–the safe place.

I think it is a pretty common theme that grandkids love to go to their grandparents' houses. There's lots of love there.

I think everyone liked to go to my grandparents’ house. Everyone. Whether my grandparents had known them for decades, or just met them, they would feel warm, welcomed, and safe at their house. That little, solid, built-by-hand house was a welcoming place.

That welcome was not an accident. That humongous dining room? By design, my grandparents fostered a home where everyone was welcomed at the table. And they made a room big enough so they could extend that table, and add a chair, or five. There was never a time when someone was turned away. Well, I mean, there was also a table for the kids. If you know, you know. My point is that my grandparents literally designed and constructed their home to make people feel welcomed and safe, and to provide a place for anyone and everyone.

It is not incidental, either, that my grandma was one of the most influential people in my life and in my walk with the Lord.

As I’ve journeyed for a few decades, trying to follow the way Jesus carved out in the Gospels, I have come to believe that hospitality is crucial to the life of a believer.

Hospitality builds community for believers and people who are like-minded.

Hospitality creates pathways for believers to influence those who are not yet followers of Christ. Hospitality creates a servant-like heart.

Hospitality looks to the interests and needs of others.

Hospitality is an act of holy worship.

My son, in passing, said to me once: hospitality is inviting to the table one whose testimony is not finished. And, I think about that a lot.

In fact, hospitality is the way of Christ: the humility, the servitude, the compassion, the love for neighbor.

Hospitality is following the narrow way, and Jesus calls us to emulate His way. He was willing to be interrupted to show others His consideration, compassion, love, and generosity.

And, he always saved a seat at the table.

Arise and Shine: Who has God placed in your life, or in your circle, to whom you can show the love of Christ? How can you choose to serve others? How can you “adopt the mind of Christ” to show others His love?

Let's be like Jesus, so we can “shine among [the darkness] like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:15).