Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practise hospitality.
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
“It used to be quite normal to pop next door for a coffee or invite friends over for dinner”, says a recent article in The Guardian. “But not any more.” Entertaining at home is far less popular than it used to be. Why?
One reason is that we live further apart, as our towns have expanded. Then there’s the rise of dietary requirements (which sometimes cannot be helped). Social media has created a world of perfect homes and beautifully laid tables which we feel we cannot emulate in our own places (especially in a cramped place with our children).
In addition, it seems that TV cooking shows may have made us feel we need to put on a five-course MasterChef style event. We are busy over-parenting our kids, ferrying them everywhere, and don’t have time to have people in. We are worried that guests will over-stay their welcome. And so on.
Against all this, God calls us to be hospitable, as the verses at the head of this post indicate. The kitchen table should be a place of welcome in every Christian home.
As those who will experience God’s amazing hospitality (see John 17:24!!), we should open our arms of welcome, and our tables.
To do so, we need to put to one side the pride that insists on the model home, the perfect family and the Michelin starred meal. Church members with long memories may remember how Charlie Newcombe, now the minister of Christ Church Huntingdon, demonstrated on video just how we can entertain with frozen pizza and broccoli! Nor do you need to be married to host!
Over the years Rachel and I have had wonderful times around various tables in very different homes and with a whole variety of cooking styles!
These have been memorable occasions for us, and a great opportunity for fellowship and encouragement. We should never underestimate, in a world in which hospitality seems to be in decline and loneliness at record levels, just how wonderful an invitation can be.
If someone who’s not yet a Christian is welcomed to your home in this counter-cultural way, you never know – it might be the start of a journey to faith for them.
