we need a hospitality revival

I hate it when people are trying to force me into a mould that I don’t want to be in. One of the things that I have about being an adult is this constant pressure to confirm. It is not that it was not there when I was younger, but now I am an adult man and it seems to me that I should now be in charge of my life, especially when it comes to following Christ.

One area in my life which is really challenging is hospitality. In Romans 12:13-16, which is part of a larger section of teaching, we are instructed in what some of the aspects of presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice means. Those whom are rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation and always ready to pray are also seeing to the needs of others and practicing hospitality. They bless others and show compassion with them as they walk in the shoes of another.

In 1Timothy 3:2 it says that one of the qualifications of a leader is practicing hospitality. In Titus 1:8 it says that hey should be a lover of hospitality. Now just chew on this for a moment. How is it that with all of the paperwork, meetings, and such that a person will have the strength or desire to not only practise hospitality but to love doing it? I think that clue is in how leadership affects those who follow. What the leadership does so does the group. Hospitality practiced among leaders produces congregations that practice hospitality and thus produce cultures of hospitality.

I cannot tell you the last time I heard a riveting sermon about the merits of hospitality. I hear more talk about speaking in tongues, healing, and prophecy than I’ve ever heard about how important it is to serve others and make strangers feel at home, and yet this is one of the spiritual gifts. You know the special abilities that the Holy Spirit gives us, so that the body of Christ is built up, and actually reflects the life of Christ to a world that wanders in darkness.

But there is more

In Hebrews 13:2 it says that when we are hospitable then we might even, without knowing it, entertain angles. We see an example of this in Genesis 18:1-8 when God appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. Abraham, the father of those who trust God in faith, invites them to spend some time with him, quench their thirst, clean themselves up and share a meal. The thing is that God obliges Abraham and the three men stay.

In Judges 13 Manoah entreats the Angel of the Lord to stay and eat with them.

Now that is something to think about!

1 Peter 4:9 tells us that hospitality is not to be done grudgingly by force and guilty feelings but generously. It is part of how we practice Christian love.

As Paul is writing to Timothy (5:10) about the qualifications of the widows that are to be taken care of he talks about how important her life of diligent good works and the reputation that grows from that is. She is to have lodged strangers, washed the feet of the saints, given relief to those who are afflicted, that is hospitality.

Today I was trying to help someone understand that hospitality is something that is very important. Hospitality is one of the signs of a sound biblical teaching. Actually if you are looking for a church to belong to then look and see how the church and its members practice hospitality. I can assure you that if you spend a long time in a community that does not practice this then you may find it increasingly difficult to practice or to grow in hospitality.

Needless to say I did not win the discussion. In fact I was really upset after that failed conversation. Even though many churches are economically pressed, I feel that it is wrong to then use that as an excuse for not practicing hospitality. Does not our God own the cattle on a thousand hills or is it just poetic talk?

So many times we make decisions based solely on what we have in our hands. It might sound responsible to justify why we can’t share our resources, especially with those who have it tough, but it is a flight from faith. Will God take care of our needs, if we generously share what we have with others, or will he not? I think that this question is at the bottom of today’s hospitality crisis. We are often looking at what we loose instead of what we gain.

We need a revival of hospitality. We need to hear sermons telling about how important this spiritual gift is as well as courageous leaders willing to demonstrate it or least not stopping it. We need to make sure that when we have social times after our church services, that we are not excluding the poor and those who have very little from being a part of this time of fellowship, by charging them to participate.

A few years ago, when I was still a seminary student, my family and I stopped participating in the after-service-fellowship, because we could not afford it. I was too embarrassed to have to ask permission to not pay so that we would be a part of the fun that so many others were having. When I did mention it, someone replied, “That tiny sum of money can’t break your bank”. The truth is that for 5 people (my 4 children and I) that money was a whole meal for us. And it would break our bank.

When God has blessed us economically, it is stupidity for us to forget where he has brought us from, and not understand and feel the pressure that those who are less fortunate have live under. One of the largest sorrows in my life is not being able to invite people to my home. I always feel bad about that. But because of a combination of my hours (I work nights), my wife is not a believer and the fact that we live outside of the civic center then it is nearly impossible to have someone at our place. But the home is not the only place to practice this.

At my job and in my daily walk, I hope that I am still practicing a generous hospitality. I don’t know because in my environment there is no one spurring me onward in my obedience to the Lord through my hospitality.

Pray for a revival among the followers of Jesus.

Peace in abundance,

Edward