It was not my intention to “blog” all 13 days of the She Reads Truth hospitality study. But, I am thoroughly enjoying the material and would love to share excerpts from her lessons as well as my thoughts on the matter. So, I give you day 2…Live a Life of Invitation.
Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
– Romans 15:7, ESV
Text: Romans 15:1-7, Matthew 22:36-40
“Hospitality shows up in a lot of ways, but often we imagine a big to-do. It is entertaining at its finest, done best by those with specific giftings, reserved for special occasions.”
It’s a shame when we box up hospitality. Ultimately, hospitality is not limited to a space or time. It matters not how large your home is or how generous your table settings. We lose sight of the true spiritual significance behind it, and in doing so, rob ourselves and others of the blessing God intends to come through it.
Lets look a little deeper…
The Greek word for hospitality is philoxenos. Phileo means “brotherly love,” and xenos means “strangers.” God’s design for hospitality is the extension of ourselves in love to strangers. So, it’s not only hosting people we know, but welcoming those we do not.
“Jesus Christ was the Ultimate Inviter. He beckoned disciples with a simple “Follow me,” received children by saying “Come to me,” invited strangers to “Walk with me,” and welcomed sinners to the table, saying, “Eat with me.” And then, in extension of glorious invitation, He gave His life on a cross for us. Because of the Cross, our life in Christ opens us up to becoming a people of audacious invitation, too.”
Think about that… the love Jesus gives to us, we are to pour back out to others. So what does that look like?
“Love for strangers is inviting a new neighbor over for a casual coffee while you fold laundry. It’s knowing the names of the people who bag your groceries. It’s offering the spare room in your house to the young girl trying to figure out what’s next in life. It’s offering encouragement to the young mom in tears with a screaming toddler in the middle of Target. Maybe it’s even inviting her to lunch after she confesses she has no one to help her.”
“We posture our hearts to welcome others as a response to the invitation we have been given through the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
As we model a life of invitation, we provide the world with a picture of a much greater spiritual truth that God invites all to his safe embrace.
I have challenged myself, and I encourage you- let us pray for hearts of love and enthusiam for catching Christ’s call to be hospitable, to live a life of invitation. Let us look for ways even today to extend ourselves in brotherly love to the strangers who cross our paths.