1 Peter 4:9 (NLT) Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 1 Peter 4:9 (AMP) Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ's body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him). 1 Peter 4:9 (MSG) Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless - cheerfully. INTRODUCTION Christian hospitality differs from social entertaining. Entertaining focuses on the host: The home must be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured. Hospitality, by contrast, focuses on the guests' needs, such as a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or just acceptance. Hospitality can happen in a messy home. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen while the host and the guest are doing chores together. Don't hesitate to offer hospitality just because you are too tired, too busy, or not wealthy enough to entertain. [Life Application SB taken from Romans 12:13 re hospitality] COMMENTARY PEARL One Sunday, my husband, Zane, invited a young couple over for dinner without asking me. That afternoon, we were already hosting our small group, so I felt overwhelmed. When we got home, I scurried around cleaning the house. I found myself grumbling about entertaining so many people. Couldn't he have invited the couple over a different night? I thought as I threw dog toys into a basket. I was in a crummy mood, definitely not an attitude of hospitality, at least not the type of hospitality Jesus modeled. Jesus, of course, didn't grumble when He made a meal for thousands of hungry people out of fish and bread without a kitchen (Luke 9:16). He created an intimate moment of connection by cooking breakfast over a fire on the beach for some of His disciples after His resurrection (John 21:9). In fact, Jesus graciously offers what we need most. He nourishes us without food and satisfies our thirst without water (John 6:35). He restores our souls (Psalm 23:3) and gives us rest (Matthew 11:28). Grumbling when preparing for guests is an indication my heart was not right. I had subtly slipped into wanting others to admire our lifestyle, a tidy home, and fancy food, rather than offering them the gift of friendship, acceptance, understanding, and love. People can enjoy themselves in a messy house, but an unclean heart is never hospitable. True hospitality is not about the house; it's about the Host. Jeannie Blackmer Faith Step: Think of a time you focused more on how your home looked than how your guests felt. Ask Jesus to help you focus on what really matters the next time you have the opportunity to host others. [Mornings With Jesus 2023 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] COMMENTARY Open Your Door, Open Your Heart Long before the church had pulpits and baptisteries, she had kitchens and dinner tables. "The believers met together in the Temple every day. They ate together in their homes, happy to share their food with joyful hearts" (Acts 2:46 NCV). "Every day in the Temple and in people's homes they continued teaching the people and telling the Good News - that Jesus is the Christ" (Acts 5:42 NCV). Even a casual reading of the New Testament unveils the house as the primary tool of the church. "To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer and to the church in your house" (Philem. vv. 1-2). "Greet Priscilla and Aquila the church that is in their house" (Rom. 16:3, 5). "Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house" (Col. 4:15). It's no wonder that the elders were to be "given to hospitality" (1 Tim. 3:2 KJV). The primary gathering place of the church was the home. Consider the genius of God's plan. The first generation of Christians was a tinderbox of contrasting cultures and backgrounds. At least fifteen different nationalities heard Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Jews stood next to Gentiles. Men worshipped with women. Slaves and masters alike sought after Christ. Can people of such varied backgrounds and cultures get along with each other? We wonder the same thing today. Can Hispanics live in peace with Anglos? Can Democrats find common ground with Republicans? Can a Christian family carry on a civil friendship with the Muslim couple down the street? Can divergent people get along? The early church did - without the aid of sanctuaries, church buildings, clergy, or seminaries. They did so through the clearest of messages (the Cross) and the simplest of tools (the home). Not everyone can serve in a foreign land, lead a relief effort, or volunteer at the downtown soup kitchen. But who can't be hospitable? Do you have a front door? A table? Chairs? Bread and meat for sandwiches? Congratulations! You just qualified to serve in the most ancient of ministries: hospitality. You can join the ranks of people such as Abraham. He fed, not just angels, but the Lord of angels (Gen. 18). Rahab, the harlot. She received and protected the spies. Thanks to her kindness, her kindred survived, and her name is remembered (Josh. 6:22-23; Matt. 1:5). Martha and Mary. They opened their home for Jesus. He, in turn, opened the grave of Lazarus for them (John 11:1-45; Luke 10:38-42). Zacchaeus. He welcomed Jesus to his table. And Jesus left salvation as a thank-you gift (Luke 19:1-10). And what about the greatest example of all - the "certain man" of Matthew 26:18? On the day before his death, Jesus told his followers, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, The Teacher says: The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover with my followers at your house'" (NCV). How would you have liked to be the one who opened his home for Jesus? You can be. "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt. 25:40 NIV). As you welcome strangers to your table, you are welcoming God himself. Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in a sanctuary. In a church auditorium you see the backs of heads. Around the table you see the expressions on faces. In the auditorium one person speaks; around the table everyone has a voice. Church services are on the clock. Around the table there is time to talk. Hospitality opens the door to uncommon community. It's no accident that hospitality and hospital come from the same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: "You matter to me and to God." You may think you are saying, "Come over for a visit." But what your guest hears is, "I'm worth the effort." Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (1 Peter 4:9-10 NLT) Heavenly Father, you have given me so much - every breath I take is a gift from your hand. Even so, I confess that sometimes my own hand remains tightly closed when I encounter the needs of others. Please open both my hand and my heart that I might learn to delight in taking advantage of the daily opportunities for hospitality that you present to me. Help me remember, Lord, that when I show your love in tangible ways to "the least of these," I am ministering directly to you. As you help me open my heart and hand, O Lord, I ask that you also prompt me to open my door to those who need a taste of your love and bounty. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at maxlucado.com] ILLUSTRATION PEARLS My senior year of college should have been a breeze. Each of my roommates had assignments during the summer so we'd be ready to launch a smooth new year when we arrived at San Diego State University for the fall semester. Within a day or two of arrival I knew the transition was going to be anything but smooth. The roommate who was supposed to secure our apartment failed to fill out the proper forms, so we got there to face an angry landlord who'd already rented the place to someone else. Feeling sorry for us, he let us sleep in an unrented apartment filled with storage items for almost two weeks. Two of our roommates couldn't stand the stress so they packed up and left, leaving me and one other roommate virtually homeless. The dreaded day came when the landlord set our things out on the curb and said, "Figure it out!" I remember walking to a phone booth and dialing the number of a girl I barely knew. I'd only been a follower of Jesus for a few short months, but she was a loving Christian that God planted in my life at just the right time. With shaking fingers I dialed her number, embarrassed to ask if my roommate and I could stay at her place until we could find a place of our own. It took her four seconds to say, "Stay at that curb, I'll be right there to get you!' We slept on her floor for three weeks, and never once did she complain. Her hospitality taught me more than a thousand church services could have about serving with a Christian heart. by Gari Meacham Faith Step: Hospitality is more than opening our homes; it's opening our lives. Is there someone or something you can open your life to today? [Mornings With Jesus 2018 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] Throughout my long college teaching career, my wife has taken care of the house: cooking, cleaning, caring for the children. Now she is not strong enough to do some things alone. Retired, I am able to help with the hard jobs: mopping floors, cleaning tubs and sinks, unclogging drains. Everything except dusting, because, she says, "Men can't see dust." My favorite domestic duty is cleaning up the dirty dishes. After every meal, we have a "date" at the kitchen sink. She washes, I dry. We don't have - or want - a dishwasher. We enjoy working together as a team. I do the heavy pots and pans that she can't lift. I scrape the encrusted skillet with a metal spatula, and I enjoy showing off my strength. As we work, we rehearse the day's events: "There was a famous author signing books at the library." "Oh? Anyone I know?" "Naw, never heard of him." "There was a big accident at the convenience store. A man drove right through the door." "I guess parking wasn't convenient enough?" Standing close to my redhead, I can smell the fragrance of her perfume and see the freckles under her smiling Irish eyes. When she laughs at one of my corny lines, her eyes sparkle. Done, I head for the TV room to catch the news. "Thanks for helping out, Danny." "Well, thank you for that delicious meal." I am thankful to have found a small way of giving back, for all the years she has given to me. It would be a very lonely world, Lord, without my Sharon. Daniel Schantz [Walking in Grace 2021 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] TEXTS FOR FURTHER STUDY Romans 12:13 (NKJV) distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV) Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/