“Hospitality is a personal response to your own need to connect with other people. This need is at the core of what it means to be human. Your entire humanity, your identity itself, is wrapped up in your need to connect. The real question is not how dangerous the stranger is. The real question is how dangerous will I become if I don’t learn to be more open.”
This series on hospitality has been growing inside my heart for a lifetime.
Because really, isn’t it the ache of every human heart—to be known, to be loved?
But we have exchanged the riches of the word for something shallow and meaningless.
Hospitality is not a perfect Martha Stewart table setting.
It is not the smell of homemade bread, the clank of the right wine glasses, or the beauty of fresh flowers on the nightstand—-as wonderful as those things are.
It is not, in fact, even, the gathering of a few perfect strangers into your home to share fellowship and food.
You can have all those things and more and still miss hospitality.
Because true hospitality is born in the heart.
We learn it from our Father, who takes us into His own family, washes us clean in the waters of Baptism and gives us a robe of righteousness. He prepares a feast for us every Sunday at His table where He feeds us on the true body of blood of Himself, giving us life, forgiveness and salvation. He gives all this freely and makes us His own sons and daughters.
After we’ve feasted on His riches, He says, go do likewise.
Love your neighbor as yourself. Feed him, give him drink, clothe him and welcome him into your heart.
But we are also the sons and daughters of Adam.
And when we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves, He welcomes us again to His table, to forgive us and feed us so that we will slowly but surely be strengthened in the faith to love as He loves.
Hospitality is at the core of who we are, as humans and especially as christians.
It is desire of our Father’s heart.
May it become our desire too.
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Unless otherwise specified, the quotes I use will be from the book Radical Hospitality.
We will answer the question, ‘What is hospitality’ and we will delve deep into what it really means to be open and vulnerable to others—to truly welcome them into your life.
On the fun side, I’ll be sharing recipes and practical tips for making others feel welcome and at home.
Click here to go back to the eBook page!