Hospitality

I just recently moved. It was the first time I’ve ever moved really. And, in case you didn’t know: moving is hard work. And I just had ONE person to move! (And I only moved up the road a ways. 🙂

Before now, I’ve been living in an apartment at the camp. And by apartment I mean a bedroom, bathroom, and small refrigerator. Not the most glorious place I’ve lived but hey, it was free! Anyway, I moved up the road to an actual HOUSE! Like, one with bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, ect. You know, a HOUSE! I’m sharing this HOUSE with two other gals who also work at camp. It’s a huge place with way more space than we need!

As you can imagine, I was pretty excited to be moving! And my greatest excitement came from the fact that I can now invite people to my HOUSE! I’ve really missed that. Growing up, we had people over to our house almost every week. Sometimes it was planned and sometimes it was for some spontaneous waffles. I’m so excited to do that at my HOUSE.

I’ve done quite a bit of research on hospitality. Some of the Bible verses on the topic include:

1 Peter 4:9  “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

Romans 12:13 “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

Luke 14:12-14  “He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,  and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

And there are a lot more. Hospitality is such a good outreach to others. I think sometimes it is an overlooked command in Scripture. You don’t need to have a perfect HOUSE to have others over (that will never happen anyway!) You just need to have a hospitable attitude. What does that look like? Oh, probably something like this:

Luke 10:25-37  ^“And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”  And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.  And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”