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Written by Cecília Santana, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Salvador, Brazil
Throughout my Christian walk, I’ve understood that obeying God comes down to relationships. I can already hear you saying, “How so?” Hold on, I’ll explain! In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus says to love first the Lord God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In practice, these two commandments mean that we need to be in relationship with God first (praying and meditating on the Bible) and this relationship will influence all of our other relationships.
We can only love who we know, and to know, we must spend time together. In Acts 2:44-46 we see that the first Christians regularly did things together. Sometimes in the current digital age, virtual friends get more attention than real friends. As Christians, we must be mindful to not neglect time with each other, especially post-pandemic where even church services became virtual, and the practice of hospitality is running the risk of being forgotten.
The Bible talks a lot about the importance of hospitality and today I want to cite two reasons to exercise this gift:
1 - God gave the first example for us to follow.
God wanted to be in relationship with us so He created a “perfect home.” The Garden of Eden had everything we needed and, most importantly, God walked with us there (Gen. 2:15-25). However, we know that this relationship was broken by the sin of Adam and Eve and they were forced to “leave home” as a result (Gen. 3:23,24). Soon after, God as a Loving Father brought about the renewing of His relationship with mankind through Noah when He told him to build a “safe house” free from evil, better known as Noah’s Ark (Gen. 6-9).
But again, disobedience distanced us until God once again restored our relationship, this time through Abraham, and the first step was to “leave home” (Gen. 12:1-3). This relationship was so deep that we see God revealing his plans for Abraham’s descendants. They would be guests in another country for a while (Gen. 15:13), but then they would have their own home; a land flowing with milk and honey (Gen. 15:18-19 and Deut. 6:3). Abraham was an exemplary host when he received the angels (Gen. 18:1-8), as was his nephew, Lot (Gen. 19:1-3). In both cases, these visits proved to be huge unexpected blessings!
The promise made to Abraham (Gen. 12:3) has reached all the way to us as daughters, by faith through our relationship with Christ who came down from Heaven to live on earth with us for 33 years (John 3:16) and continues to live in us through the Holy Spirit. The most beautiful part of this relationship is that Christ prepared our eternal dwelling (John 14:2-4), so we know that we are foreigners in this passing world and we cannot become attached to anything here. Everything is borrowed from God and should be used to bring others to Christ.
2 - Hospitality is an opportunity to exercise practical love.
Through our earthly home entrusted to us by Christ, some of us have the opportunity to show His love to the residents (parents, kids, spouse) who need a welcoming place, a “little piece of Heaven” in this dark world, where they can renew their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. Whether we share our home with others or live alone, this love should extend to neighbors, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, and even to strangers! (Rom. 12:13; Gal. 6:10)
As wise women, we have the responsibility to maintain our homes (Prov. 14:1), be good managers and attentive to how everything is going like the “exemplary woman” of Proverbs 31. Our doors need to be open to teaching the Word as Lydia did (Acts 16:14,15, 40) so that Jesus can enter and transform lives as He did with Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).
I am grateful to the woman who opened her home through which my husband and I came to Jesus and were converted more than 20 years ago. Therefore, my advice to those who think their homes are too small or too ugly is to let go of this idea because all guests need is for us to show them God’s love.
To conclude, I want to share three practical tips from the scriptures and my personal experience:
- Don’t complain! 1 Peter 4:9-11 tells us that we should practice hospitality without grumbling. I have had the opportunity to serve by helping with domestic tasks in homes where, even with problems, my merciful hosts were hospitable. I have also received guests who were challenging, and I learned to be more meek, patient, and self-controlled.
- Never expect anything in return! Everything we do is to glorify and honor God (1 Cor. 10:31). Our reward is eternal (Matt. 10:42). It is much better when the initiative to reciprocate is free and spontaneous, as it was with Elijah in 2 Kings 4:8-32. Be like the Shunammite woman— do your best and God will bless you— and if you are the guest, be a nice surprise!
- Finally: Rejoice, be generous and grateful for the opportunity to serve! Hospitality continues to be God’s powerful means of deepening relationships and changing lives!
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Written by Lindsay Richardson, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Tennessee
As a missionary kid with a love for travel, I’ve had abundant opportunities to see different parts of the world and to experience a variety of service and volunteer opportunities. I have too many stories to share here, but just this last March I had the chance to go as a volunteer Spanish interpreter on a medical mission trip to Baja, Mexico.
As 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (NIV).
I am not in any way connected to the medical world, but knowing two languages has been a blessing that God has given me with which to help others.
Here are some testimonies and stories from my week in Mexico:
- We had a patient whom I prayed for in Spanish, and at the end of the visit, and afterward, he said he had tried everything for his pain: doctors, chiropractic care, physical therapy, and medication. But this prayer helped more than anything else had.
- Another patient came to us with rashes all over his body, hungry, and with no place to sleep. We scrounged through our backpacks, gave him our granola bars and water, and found him a blanket.
- I prayed with an older man and as I was praying he would interrupt me with his requests: “oraciones para mi trabajo” (prayers for my job), and ”encontrar una mujer” (that he would find/meet a woman). I had a good laugh.
- A man came in carrying heavy emotional burdens in addition to his sickness and red, burning eyes. He was shaking and sobbing and said his wife left him and took their kids and he has no support system left. He said someone invited him today to the church where the clinic was held and I was able to assure him that he did in fact have a support system and family in Christ there. (I barely made it through that prayer because at the end, I got choked up.)
What a humbling experience! It truly has given me a new perspective on being “the hands and feet of Jesus.”
I have also been involved in some weekly opportunities to serve here in Nashville. I’ve been a part of a Christian organization called People Loving Nashville that provides food and clothing to the hungry and those in need. It’s been an amazing ministry to witness so many people in our city serving and loving each other. I’ve learned so much about humanity in addition to my own heart for others. It’s been a true perspective shift!
In Matthew 25:35-36 it says,
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
Hearing heartbreaking story after story as I’ve been able to interact with people personally in my own city has also allowed me to feel closer to the heart of God as I allow Him to use me in small ways to help make a big impact in the Kingdom. People come to us every single week just because they know they will be loved and cared for in a special way that can only be explained by our relationship with Jesus. May we never underestimate the power of how we can be used by God! We are all simply seed planters, and He is the waterer.