Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13 (NIV)
Your home is an expression of who you are. When you open your home to others, you open yourself to them in a special way.
If someone who had never met you could spend an hour looking round your home, they would be able to tell a great deal about you. They could tell what you are interested in, how you spend your time, and even how much you care.
So when you practice hospitality, you’re inviting another person to share in your blessings. This is a wonderful way of expressing love for one another. A healthy family will be one in which a good balance is found between times when the door is closed and times when the door is open. You do not have to have a large house in order to practice hospitality.
The Bible places a special emphasis on the blessing of giving and receiving hospitality: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:8-9).
At the heart of the gospel, Jesus invites you to share his home, and therefore to share his life for all eternity. But he never forces the invitation, he extends the invitation. Why would a person who has never been drawn to Christ in this life want to spend eternity with him in his home?
But for those who love him, who have longed for his appearing, who have sought him in faith and prayer, eternity in his home will be beyond any joy that we could begin to imagine. When Christ invites you to enter his home, he is opening up himself to you. And when you enter his home, you will have a whole new understanding of who he is.
How are you practicing hospitality?
