So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. – 1 Thessalonians 2:8
Previously we reviewed possible ways as a congregation we might replicate the hospitality ministry of Acts 2:46-47? What are answers to our personal barriers to biblical hospitality?
Make it a priority. As evidence of being “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Ro. 12:2), we’re to “pursue” or “chase” (διώκοντες) after the “stranger” in our midst (Ro. 12:13b). We don’t wait for a “knock at our door.” We go out of our way to offer it. Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt. 25:35). Are you going out of your way to offer hospitality to the “stranger” who has a different lifestyle than you . . . in your neighborhood, on the job, at school? Is this missing in your spiritually maturing in the Lord?
Plan and Budget. I will never forget what a man from India told me about a customary practice in India. Families would make and freeze many meals and designate them for whoever knocks on their door. The “knocks” would come in the afternoon, early evening and sometimes around 10pm. Sometimes they knew them, other times, they were complete strangers. But they always planned and prepared meals so they could be ready to show “hospitality” . . . even as non-Christians. How humbling this was to me as a Christian. Is it time to get out your calendar and make some meals?
Model gospel hospitality to your children. It’s not uncommon to hear parents voice concerns about exposing their children to people with different lifestyles and beliefs. There is some validity to this, but it shouldn’t excuse us from welcoming the stranger in our own homes. “We fail to bring up children in the nurture of the Lord if we fail to involve them in our efforts to gather others to the Savior” (The Church, Ed Clowney, p. 160).
There are many ways, simple ways we can overcome our personal barriers. Sit by people at church you don’t know well. When you invite “church people” to your home, invite also your neighbor or someone not related to church. Learn and remember names of “strangers.” Invite “strangers” to church. Be a considerate neighbor. Pray for opportunities to “welcome the stranger.”
“In the gospel, God says, ‘Travelers come to me.’ In biblical hospitality, the gospel of Christ becomes visual, concrete, and practical to the stranger and to the host.” (Faithful and Fruitful, p. 80.)
