Hospitality from the Heart

READ: ROMANS 12:9-21; 1 PETER 4:7-11

After a long week of boring classes and demanding homework assignments, I was very excited when the weekend arrived. I was free to enjoy myself, at least for a few hours. I didn’t have any big plans—one of my new college friends was coming over, and we were going to watch an episode of a TV show together.

When we finished the episode, my new friend invited me and my roommate over to her dorm room. This gesture of kindness might seem small, but it meant a lot to me. She made popcorn for us to share, talked with us about life, and even offered to make us hot tea in her microwave.

My friend’s hospitality was simple yet incredibly thoughtful. Everything from the freshly-popped popcorn to her words of encouragement made our evening special. Her example serves as a reminder that hospitality doesn’t need to be complicated or extravagant. In fact, it can be quite simple, as long as it comes from the heart.

Throughout the course of Jesus’s ministry, many people demonstrated hospitality. For example, Martha invited Jesus into her home (Luke 10:38), and an unnamed man hosted Passover in his home for Jesus and His disciples (Mark 14:12-16).

Even thousands of years later, we can have an incredible impact on others by showing hospitality to believers and nonbelievers alike. Our acts of hospitality don’t require four-course meals, countless hours of cleaning, or elaborate decor. Hospitality simply requires a servant’s heart—a heart transformed by Jesus and filled with His hospitable love. • Grace McCready

• What comes to mind when you hear the word hospitality? Do you automatically think of something elaborate, like a fancy dinner party? Hospitality is often much simpler (Luke 10:38-42; John 21:1-14). Can you think of a time someone showed you simple hospitality, perhaps by inviting you into their space, offering you food, or even just making you feel welcome and included?

• Remember, we can show hospitality to others because Jesus has shown the greatest hospitality to us— welcoming us into His family by dying on the cross and rising from the grave for us. Jesus even said that He was going to the Father to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3). What is one thing you could do to show hospitality to somebody this week?

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:8-9 (NIV)