I’ve been doing the devotional plans in the back of my (In)Courage Bible. Currently, I am working through the plan titled “Imperfect Hospitality”. Actually, I have a few days left. It has been really beautiful to see the examples of hospitality shown throughout the Bible.
“Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” Acts 28:30-31 CSB
I keep thinking about how I can’t wait to move into our farmhouse and open the doors to our friends and family. There will be so much space–both inside and outside. But, really, I can open the doors no matter where I am.
I don’t have to have large rooms to open the doors and make people feel at home. I just have to open the door.
I don’t have to have an immaculately designed home with perfect decor in order to welcome people in. I just have to welcome them unapologetically.
Christina Wells said “Why do we say our identity is in Christ and we are here to love others, yet we live like our identity is in appearances and we are here to impress others?”
Ouch.
In our day of social media and perfectly curated pictures, we certainly are sending a different message. It’s not wrong to want our home to look a certain way, but if we wait for perfection to invite others in, we are really missing a lot of opportunity. How many times do we say “ignore the….” when someone comes into our home? Just open the door!
I love having family and friends over. I am a homebody at heart, but I do long for community. We used to invite our teens over for spaghetti when we lived near Detroit. Our next home was probably less than 1000 square feet, but I still hosted our families at Easter and Thanksgiving whenever possible. We were cramped, but we were together. I’ve had birthday parties and holiday celebrations in our home for years, and I always feel so filled up after. I hope that those that have walked through the door leave feeling better than they came.
Scott and I both struggle every day with no longer being in full-time ministry. While it is TEMPORARY, it is still difficult. God does open doors for us to minister to others. He gets those opportunities at work, and so do I. We get opportunities when friends reach out to us and we can pray with them. Little pieces of hospitality, even outside of the home, are an incredible way of ministering to others.
We don’t have to cook an extravagant meal to invite people in. We just have to offer an ear, an encouraging word, a prayer.. even a cold glass of water.