Certain spaces and people hold the ability to welcome others into rest. They are rejuvenating. We call this trait hospitality and it comes from a place of love.

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. It is not simply the act of entertaining itself, but rather making others feel refreshed, seen, and valued. When we are refreshed, we have a higher capacity to grow and love.

Throughout the New Testament, the importance of hospitality is emphasized and certain people, like Lydia or Gaius, are praised for their displays of this spiritual discipline. They open up their homes and share meals, but more than that, they invite people into an authentic and intimate connection. Life was built on hospitable community. In times so often defined by animosity and division, these early believers broke down barriers and created spaces filled with love for their brothers and sisters. And out of that love and hospitality, the early Church grew.

In reflecting upon the examples of Cornelius and Lydia, we can acknowledge the importance of hospitality in causing change. By opening their lives and homes, these early followers broke down centuries of barriers and lives were changed for generations. These life changes happened in relationship, as people opened themselves and their lives to people of very different backgrounds. As we look at our own lives, communities, neighborhoods, we can envision the growth and flourishing that could happen through a similar model of loving hospitality.

While hospitality can be an easy attitude to adopt with the people we already know, Hebrews 13:1-2 reminds us that there is also a calling to show this same welcome to strangers. The basics of welcoming stay the same and yet it is the spirit in which they are performed that alters our experience. One of the earliest examples of showing hospitality to strangers is found in Genesis 18, where Abraham entertains three guests from God. In this passage, Abraham creates a welcoming atmosphere through his small actions done quickly. He washes the guests' feet, gives them a shaded place to rest and a drink. To be hospitable to strangers is to be proactively ready for unexpected guests and to treat them no differently than loved ones within your home. It is to keep our eyes and hearts open to the people and opportunities for care God has placed before us.

When we strive to love each person we encounter, we live our lives in a posture of hospitality. To truly make someone leave a space or conversation feeling more comfortable and refreshed, we must first make them feel known and valued. Just like the early Christians or Abraham, we are called to be present and extend invitations into our spaces and our lives.

For some, this may look like an open home and a shared meal. Others may exhibit hospitality in their intentional conversations with those they meet, inviting different voices into a safe and welcoming environment. Even praying over spaces and situations can show great hospitality to refresh tired souls. In each way that hospitality can be practiced, let us remember the heart of the word—to host a space where others feel welcomed, loved, and renewed.  

Certain spaces and people hold the ability to welcome others into rest. They are rejuvenating. We call this trait hospitality and it comes from a place of love.

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. It is not simply the act of entertaining itself, but rather making others feel refreshed, seen, and valued. When we are refreshed, we have a higher capacity to grow and love.

Throughout the New Testament, the importance of hospitality is emphasized and certain people, like Lydia or Gaius, are praised for their displays of this spiritual discipline. They open up their homes and share meals, but more than that, they invite people into an authentic and intimate connection. Life was built on hospitable community. In times so often defined by animosity and division, these early believers broke down barriers and created spaces filled with love for their brothers and sisters. And out of that love and hospitality, the early Church grew.

In reflecting upon the examples of Cornelius and Lydia, we can acknowledge the importance of hospitality in causing change. By opening their lives and homes, these early followers broke down centuries of barriers and lives were changed for generations. These life changes happened in relationship, as people opened themselves and their lives to people of very different backgrounds. As we look at our own lives, communities, neighborhoods, we can envision the growth and flourishing that could happen through a similar model of loving hospitality.

While hospitality can be an easy attitude to adopt with the people we already know, Hebrews 13:1-2 reminds us that there is also a calling to show this same welcome to strangers. The basics of welcoming stay the same and yet it is the spirit in which they are performed that alters our experience. One of the earliest examples of showing hospitality to strangers is found in Genesis 18, where Abraham entertains three guests from God. In this passage, Abraham creates a welcoming atmosphere through his small actions done quickly. He washes the guests' feet, gives them a shaded place to rest and a drink. To be hospitable to strangers is to be proactively ready for unexpected guests and to treat them no differently than loved ones within your home. It is to keep our eyes and hearts open to the people and opportunities for care God has placed before us.

When we strive to love each person we encounter, we live our lives in a posture of hospitality. To truly make someone leave a space or conversation feeling more comfortable and refreshed, we must first make them feel known and valued. Just like the early Christians or Abraham, we are called to be present and extend invitations into our spaces and our lives.

For some, this may look like an open home and a shared meal. Others may exhibit hospitality in their intentional conversations with those they meet, inviting different voices into a safe and welcoming environment. Even praying over spaces and situations can show great hospitality to refresh tired souls. In each way that hospitality can be practiced, let us remember the heart of the word—to host a space where others feel welcomed, loved, and renewed.