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Hello Church!
How are you doing this week?
I wanted to take a moment and check in with you. Recently, my family visited Samantha’s parents in Oklahoma. When we leave home there is always excitement to visit them simply because how I know her parents will make us feel when we arrived. There is nowhere else on earth where you will feel more loved and welcomed than the home of Dennis & Becky Edwards.
When we visit their home, they plan for us to arrive. They go shopping and buy the best foods and treats that they would not normally buy for themselves. They put us in the nicest beds. The house is spotless. They plan activities for us to enjoy during our stay. Everything is done with great intention! In short, and to an extent, we are treated like kings and queens. They might not say that about themselves, but that is how they make us feel. It is truly special and makes us look forward to returning home there to visit everytime.
Dennis and Becky are incredibly hospitable to all of their guests. Dennis is a businessman and he knows the importance of entertaining and how basic and essential this is to the development of human relationships. The crazy thing is for years that Dennis didn’t walk closely with the Lord, but he modeled an incredibly Godly trait in his family through his hospitality ministry to his guests and in his business.
When you study Scripture carefully, you will discover that hospitality is an essential part of life in all of Biblical history. It is a necessary ministry that God has given to us to show love to others. Think of people who made you feel special in your life. They did something that was unmistakable that made you realize their love for you.
Did you know that we love God because he first loved us? If not, check out 1 John 4:19. Did you know that we know that God loves us because he displays his love to us in tangible ways? If not, check out Romans 5:8. Bonds in relationships (ie. faith) are built through our behavior and acts of service. That’s why James says that faith without works is dead. Check out James 2:14-26. Abraham was called a friend of God because it showed through his actions.
The extent of our hospitality will be the extent to which people feel loved and cared for by our ministry. These external expressions are a reflection of our internal love and desire for others. Our hospitality is actually a heart issue. We cannot separate the external from internal. Jesus taught that what is on the outside is a reflection of our hearts on the inside. When our hearts are transformed and fully committed to reaching the next spiritual generation, we will be excited to demonstrate the love of Christ to outsiders in tangible ways.
What this means is that externals like greeting people with a smile, having basic etiquette, offering refreshments, going out of the way to show guests around, taking a genuine interest in someone’s life (ie. remembering to ask questions), and even the atmosphere we create and the words we choose can have a significant impact. I had a professor who encouraged us to always carry a comb and breath mints! Great advice. Funny but true.
Rest assured that God is bringing the world to our congregation. We must be prepared to invite in newcomers and give them the best experience we can. Be ready to get to know guests and introduce them to your friends at church. Please connect them to our ministries. Invite them to your community group. By every means, let’s be ready!
I love you all. If you struggle with these ideas, please connect with me. Some of this might be new to you or you might not fully understand this idea. I would love to encourage you in this way. We don’t have time to miss out on the opportunities that God is giving to us. How we engage our guests might possibly be someone’s first real touch by God’s love! Isn’t that incredible? You and I have the potential to be the first expression of the Gospel to our guests through our hospitality.
Let’s do this together!
Jeremiah
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