An Open Door

An open door. Smiles. Cookies. Three things that shout "welcome" and the three things I was greeted with last night as I attended a bible study in my neighborhood. I've been pondering the virtue of hospitality, especially as Pete and I plan for Discovering Christ and was so blessed by my host's hospitality last night that I wanted to share with you.

If you are anything like me, hospitality isn't necessarily number one on your list of "Needs Improvement". People come over, you give them a seat, food, drink, smile, and listen - it is a social norm. But I have been learning that there is so much more to being hospitable than the basics and although you may be aware of everything you need to do, actually doing it with Christ's love is a whole different story and can draw someone to Christ’s heart.

If you look in the Old Testament and study Middle Eastern culture, you see how important hospitality was to them. It was normal for families to welcome a stranger into their home and only after giving them food, drink, and rest, ask the stranger's name. In Leviticus, God commands the Israelites to welcome the stranger, as they too had been strangers in Egypt. This hospitality is illustrated by people such as Lot who entertained angels, Abraham and Sarah who were hospitable to the three men, and in the New Testament we are told in Hebrews 13:2, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

Last night my hosts mirrored this hospitality. When I arrived the door was wide open, I was immediately greeted and offered a seat and cookies that were surprisingly good despite being cooked with olive oil. But more than my basic needs were met as the evening progressed.

For those of you who don't know me, I can talk a lot. As a result of my mouth that "runneth over", I often try to hold back when I first meet people; but last night I felt so comfortable that I completely forgot. Halfway through one of my long ramblings, I looked around the room and realized that I was being listened to. Not just the polite, "oh she is new, let's be nice" listening; rather, it was a loving listening. It was small instances like these that really stood out to me. I have always been used to polite, nice people but have not often experienced true hospitality.

The example of my hosts was such an unexpected blessing and made me really reflect on how that alone can be a great tool of evangelization. People just want to be loved, and what better way than going a little bit beyond basic hospitality to truly loving and listening.