Hospitality

If you’ve been around the church for a while, then you’ve probably heard about something called hospitality.

Many churches have hospitality teams which help to put on church meals and potlucks, and this is a great way to serve the church.

However, the New Testament teaches us that all Christians are commanded to show hospitality.

Paul tells Timothy and Titus that a man is disqualified from being an elder in the church if he is not known for showing hospitality. Elders set an example for the church to follow, so elders must show the church what it looks like to be hospitable toward others.

Guess what? Hospitality is a big deal, and all Christians must learn to show hospitality.

So, we must show hospitality, but what is it?

Hospitality means “loving strangers” and is commonly connected to the household. This is why hospitality is typically associated with meals and homes, but hospitality is more of a mindset than an action.

It’s possible to invite someone over for a meal and call it “hospitality” while forgetting to put on a hospitable mindset. Because of this, we should be less concerned about the outward behavior and more concerned with the heart and attitude of hospitality.

My mother-in-law gave me a helpful definition of hospitality - “Biblical hospitality values others and prepares to welcome and serve them in order to share God’s love.”

Let’s read that again slowly.

“Biblical hospitality values others and prepares to welcome and serve them in order to share God’s love.”

Our culture is busy, greedy, and selfish. Hospitality challenges these sinful mindsets as it invites us to slow down, to generously share, and to put the needs of others above our own. We might show hospitality to deepen existing relationships, or we might show hospitality toward someone that we have recently met. Regardless, the goal is to sacrifice time, money, and energy to create a space of welcome and blessing for the good of others.

At RCC, the hospitality team helps to coordinate meals so that members and guests can deepen relationships by eating together. We enjoy eating good food, but the goal is not the food, the goal is deepening relationships with one another and welcoming new guests into our church community.

In our personal lives, we are all called to show hospitality. Here’s some ways that I’ve noticed people show hospitality at RCC:

In each of these examples, people have valued others and developed a plan to welcome, serve, and care for others in order to share God’s love.

Hospitality takes planning, initiating, and creativity. Hospitality does not happen by accident. It’s an intentional choice.

In Romans 15:7, Paul commands those in the church in Rome to “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

In other words, Christians should rejoice that God has shown us hospitality and respond by showing hospitality to others. Even though we were sinners, Christ welcomed us, so now we respond by gladly welcoming other sinners through hospitality.

Jesus was often homeless during his ministry, so he wasn’t necessarily hosting people in his nice home with a fancy meal, but he embodied a hospitable attitude by his availability and love toward others. Jesus was the most interruptible man who ever lived. He put people above his task list. He was always ready to sacrifice time in order to welcome and bless others.

We are not only rescued from hell because of the work of Christ, but we are adopted children of God who will inherit the future kingdom and who always have access to our Father, the God of the Universe. Think about how God has shown hospitality toward us!