Hospitality

We finally have a real bed in our guestroom! It was a terrific find on Craigslist and I have spent the past few days puttering around in the guestroom cleaning and organizing. It really is a joy to make a room inviting and comfortable for all the loved ones we hope will come and stay.

One of the reasons we love this house is because it is so easy to have people over. The floor plan, the extra bathroom, the open space, the fenced in back yard, all these things just make it easy to invite people into our home. Even before we were married we both agreed that we wanted our home to be a place that we used to glorify God. Having people in our home means that they usually see the "real" us. There is usually a basket of unfolded laundry somewhere. The kitchen sink always has dirty dishes. Toys make their way throughout the house. The floor is dirty. Sometimes we run out of food and have to improvise at the last minute. Our kids don't always behave. Aaron and I can get snippy with each other.

But we make a real effort at opening our home because we value community. We believe that in sharing life with others we build each other up.

Recently I was re-reading The Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch. This quote really stood out to me:

I don't think most Christians today understand how essential hospitality is to fanning the flames of love and strengthening the Christian family. Hospitality fleshes out love in a uniquely personal and sacrificial way. Through the ministry of hospitality, we share our most prized possessions. We share our family, home, finances, food, privacy, and time. Indeed, we share our very lives. So, hospitality is always costly. Through the ministry of hospitality, we provide friendship, acceptance, fellowship, refreshment, comfort and love in one of the richest and deepest ways possible for humans to understand. Unless we open the doors of our homes to one another, the reality of the local church as a close-knit family of loving brothers and sisters is only a theory. (p.17)

Sometimes I get jealous of the church in Acts. The Bible paints such a picture of community and growth and caring! "And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts," (Acts 2:46) Sometimes in our Sunday night small group we ask, "Would we meet every day to worship together? How amazing would that be? How would it change our lives? How would it change the world?"

I'm not sure how to wrap this up. It is starting to sound preachy and holier-than-thou, which is not what I intended. It is not always easy to exercise hospitality. But I think it is always worth it.

Next week my 2 brothers and their wives will be here. I am so excited that they will be here in our home and that we will be sharing life together for a few days. I pray that our home will be full of laughter, play, fellowship and prayer not to mention good food!