Pastor's Corner: Hospitality

This past week I attended a reunion with several of my West Point classmates. We had a grand time in New Orleans. The reunion coincided with Army playing LSU in football in which Army lost badly.

What made the weekend so special was not just the gathering of old friends, the good weather, a college football game, the World War II Museum and even a bayou swamp tour, but the hospitality shown by my one classmate who lives in New Orleans and by the many people we met in Louisiana. The LSU fans welcomed us to their tailgate party and most all those we met thanked us for our service to the nation. We felt “welcomed!”

I am reminded of what the Bible says about hospitality:

1 Peter 4:8-10: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Romans 12:13: Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

This trait of hospitality comes from a place of love, which is the heart of the gospel.

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

And the great commandment: Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"

To be hospitable is to make others feel welcome and comfortable. For hospitality to be effective, proximity is required. We show love by drawing close and inviting others into the warmth of the spaces in our lives that we have opened. In New Orleans I stayed at my friend’s house and he selflessly shared his home, food and even his vehicle with me. He often said: “Love you brother.” To hear a group of West Pointers say “I love you” ... well one wouldn’t expect that. He showed hospitality.

Unlike entertaining, hospitality does not seek to impress or network or create obligation. Instead, it seeks to serve. As hosts are increasingly sanctified, their hospitality will increasingly be an expression of love for particular guests. Biblical hospitality seeks to show love in ways that each guest will recognize and feel. It speaks to guests in their own language, just as God does to us.

One of the best parts of the weekend was sharing with each other how God was working in our lives. One person in particular came to a relationship with Jesus as a result of our conversations. Had we not been in the house of my friend and simply stayed at a nearby hotel, these conversations would not have taken place. A person’s eternity with Jesus was determined as a result of my friend showing biblical hospitality.

How can you show hospitality? As the season turns towards Thanksgiving and Christmas we will have opportunities to have people in our homes. It may seem to be an inconvenience, and even messy at times. But when we do open our homes to others, we show the love of God to a hurting world that needs Him desperately. Love!

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Rev. Daniel Whiting is the retired executive pastor of Clarkston Community Church (Church of God Anderson).

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Pastor's Corner: Hospitality