So, I have been on a little blogging hiatus lately. Not on purpose or because God hasn't given me anything good to journal about, but I haven't had much of a chance to sit and really journal lately.
Thank you, Lord, for a sleeping child this morning and half an hour to sit and think with You!
The Life Application Study Bible states this in its footnotes (I might be hungry, I just typed food notes there the first time... anyway,) for Romans 12:13 (Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality): Christian Hospitality differs from social entertaining. Entertaining focuses on the host - the home must be spotless; the food must be well-prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured. Hospitality, by contrast, focuses on the guests. Their needs - whether for a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or acceptance - are the primary concern. Hospitality can happen in a messy home. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen while the host and the guest are doing chores together. Don't hesitate to offer hospitality just because you are too tired, too busy or not wealthy enough to entertain.
This is so true and I am so guilty. I love to entertain! But I have to say I am pretty guilty of entertaining and not just giving hospitality. I get embarrassed if people come to my house and it is a mess (which it often is because I am a Type B person who is OK with messes, but evidently not other people seeing my messes). I always want to have great food to serve, mostly because I love to cook and bake, but also because it is part of the entertaining repertoire. It is hard to admit out loud, but I want to look good. I want to impress. I, it seems, want to be the focus of my guests while I focus on my guests. Ouch.
Well, I guess time to confess and move on to improvement. I guess God never said it is a sin to entertain (that I know of - please correct me if I am wrong), but hospitality should come first because that is how we demonstrate and share God's love. Like the story of Mary and Martha, our guests should be the focus and the work can come later. Christ's love should abound, not praises of my spotless home and delicious food.
I had a friend over a few weeks ago and I had picked up my house before she came and our girls played in the basement. All we did was sit on the couch and talk about how we came to know the Lord, her recent convictions on serving the less fortunate and our new Bible Study for two whole hours. I hardly got out of my seat, we didn't have anything to eat and I never even offered her a drink. Our conversation was so great that I didn't even think about those things until after she left! I felt guilty about it (still do a little bit), but my guess is that she didn't even notice, and if she did it probably didn't bother her too much. I am guessing this is more God's idea of hospitality.
I have another friend coming over tomorrow. I plan to make sure my home is picked up enough to be comfortable, which is the norm around here, warm up some left over coffee cake and sit and enjoy her company because she is one of my best friends and I haven't gotten time with her in over 3 months!
Thank you, Lord for the opportunity to extend your love through hospitality. Help me remember this every time I have the chance to have friends or even strangers into my home. Shine your love through me and my actions to them so that they would recognize something different in me. Entertaining is fun, but you tell us in your Word to practice hospitality. Let that come first.
When I read this portion of Romans last year and did some thinking on hospitality I came up with this definition (from where I don't remember): To repeatedly work at offering generous, warm reception of others. Like you wrote it doesn't say anything about food or cleanliness or even where that takes place. I always feel a warm reception when I am at your home.
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