Hospitality: God’s Workroom for the Weak
I get home from work and walk into the kitchen. Atop the stove lie things upon which I have to imagine angels would long to look: chicken puffs and mace carrots, and a dessert to boot. It is one of many favorite dishes in our home—one that we love to share on a night like this. A couple that is relatively new to our church is coming over and we’d like to get to know them better. Most people we’ve shared this meal with have never had it before, and every time my wife Hannah prepares it, I am transported back to my early twenties and my weekly drive to the Oliver home.
Rewind to 2010. After classes concluded for the day, I drove out to the pasturelands on the outskirts of our college town with a handful of other college students. Each week we were guaranteed a hot, home-cooked meal away from home. As a broke college kid, how could I possibly turn that down?
But the food turned out only to be a delicious means to a greater end. I also received a family. With these brothers and sisters in Christ I could lose my breath in laughter, cry, and pray as we walked through life. I was invited over for dinner, yes, but even more, I received an invitation to witness up-close what a godly marriage, godly parenting, and godly service really looked like. I watched Molly pull out all the stops and sling around all the kitchenware, which Paul washed by hand at the end of dinner. I watched them raise their children in the ways of God. I watched them faithfully serve others at our church and at their workplace.
Don’t miss this: it was only through their decision and commitment to be intentionally hospitable, that I learned these valuable lessons.
Is Hospitality a Gift?
When it comes to biblical hospitality, most of us recognize its importance and will certainly value it when it is offered to us. But when it comes to the prospect of inviting others into our homes (and lives), we tend to defer to our weaknesses to get us off the hook. I’m familiar with the arguments because I’ve made them myself over the years: “That just isn’t my spiritual gift.” “We don’t have a home conducive to hosting.” “I’m not a good cook.” “My house is never clean.” “No one wants to be around all of my crazy kids.” Our protests rattle off like Moses taking exception with God’s commission (Ex. 4:1–17). Hospitality is viewed as a Christian ideal that’s simply out of reach.
It seems in the church we often limit our ministry activities to what best aligns with our perceived spiritual gifts or personality traits. We take assessments and ask questions that point us to our strengths: “What do I like?” “What comes naturally to me?” “What am I good at?” Then we let our answers to these questions dictate where and how we serve the body of Christ. If, for example, I’ve got a low score on “evangelism,” so the argument goes, then I might consider myself to be in the clear and can instead leave the evangelizing to someone more gifted. I think it is fair to say that many people fail to practice biblical hospitality because they feel an inherent deficiency in themselves to do it well.
A particularly insightful passage for our purposes is 1 Peter 4. In verses 10–11, Peter argues that we, being good stewards of God’s grace, should both acknowledge and utilize the spiritual gifts with which we have been entrusted. But Peter does not tuck biblical hospitality under the umbrella of spiritual giftedness. In fact, the exhortation to “show hospitality to one another” is as far-reaching as the call to be self-controlled, sober-minded, and to love one another (1 Pet. 4:7–9). Importantly, Peter says in verse 11 that all of our serving is to be done “by the strength that God supplies.” Hospitality, then, is not a gift that some people have and others do not. Instead, it is an important vehicle through which we can use our spiritual gifts, and is, furthermore, an opportunity to serve others with God-given support and supply.
Working from Your Weakness
It was Rosaria Butterfield who explained it most poignantly for me:
God commands all Christians to practice hospitality, and there’s no question that some people just enjoy it more than others. But we’re not just called to work from our gifts. Biblically speaking, working from your weakness is often more blessed by God than working from your strengths, which you can often do in the flesh, stealing glory from God.
To the few who feel ultra-capable to be hospitable, I offer the caution to watch and pray, that you enter not into the temptation of this kind of glory-stealing! But to the rest of us, who feel a bit overwhelmed, lacking, and ill-equipped for welcoming others into our homes and lives, I offer this encouragement: Our greatest opportunity to glorify God comes not from a position of prowess but from a workroom of weakness.
I would contend that biblical hospitality is such a place for many of us. Few of us feel cut out for the work of hospitality, because it is extremely sacrificial and costly, even uncomfortable at times. To invite someone into our home to spend an evening with us is one of the most vulnerable things we can do. It takes us out of the comfort zone of a night spent with Netflix and launches us into face-to-face conversation. It removes the veil of the curated, Instagram self and replaces that image with something much more real-time and honest.
It may be hard to imagine, but there are some things that people savor more than chicken puffs and mace carrots. They savor being seen, noticed, and acknowledged by someone else. They savor authentic conversation that spurs them on to love others and pursue good works. They savor laughing with other people. They savor encouragement and prayer. They savor laughing with other people. Who wouldn’t welcome more of this in their life? Further, if the great eschatological event we anticipate is a gathering to a rich feast (Isa. 25:6), then earthly, on-purpose hospitality primes the pump for our glorious future.
The Power of Christ in Hospitality
A married couple invites a single woman from their church over to their house for dinner during the holidays. They were going to cook anyway, and sure, they may have a little less for leftovers the next day, but they suspect this has been a hard season for her. And, as they had hoped, the single woman jumps at this invitation. She’s spent so many evenings eating alone in her apartment this month. To simply be noticed—and invited in—means the world.
A mom with two young kids is going to the park down the street. She messages another mom who is new to the area, asking if she’d like to join and bring her own little one along. They don’t know each other well, but they share the reality of caring for their children at home full-time. For a mom who still doesn’t know many people or places to go, the opportunity to simply have company and conversation with another adult is an immeasurable gift.
A neighbor across the street has been completely overwhelmed with his wife’s deteriorating health. He has made excuses to his neighbors before when they have invited him to coffee and breakfast, but he decides he will take them up on it this time. He knows they are Christians. Could they help him make sense of his life right now? Do they know how he could find some peace and hope? Would they pray for him? Maybe they could even show him if there actually is something to the Bible’s message after all.
How could God work in the lives of people around you when you say “yes” to being hospitable?
I know, you might not think you have much to offer in terms of hospitality. You aren’t a Michelin Star chef, your house would never be photographed for a magazine, and you’re not even close to having all the theological answers. However, none of these things are required for true hospitality. Only Christ is needed, and because of him, you have immeasurable impact to offer. You have the very power of Christ to offer. When you serve, God supplies you with the strength you need. The power of Christ is made perfect in your weakness. So just send the text. Preheat the oven. Unlock the door. And watch God work.
Zach Barnhart currently serves as Groups and Discipleship Pastor of Fountain City Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, and M.Div. student at SBTS. He is married to Hannah, and they have three children. You can follow Zach on Twitter or check out his personal blog, Cultivated.