Written by Dynamis Ministries | March 10, 2022
One of the most generous things we can do is to make someone feel at home. That’s because everyone has a built-in longing for home within them. This is how God created humans to be. When we make someone feel at home, we are tapping into the very core of their being and giving them gifts, powerful things like comfort, attention, food, safety, care, rest and inclusion. There’s a name for this act of generosity – hospitality. In its simplest form, generosity is giving something to someone. When that something has anything to do with making someone feel at home, it’s called hospitality.
Generosity and hospitality go hand in hand. They are related, but not as distant relatives. They are more like brothers or sisters. They belong together. This is seen in God’s Word, like in the simple verse of Romans 12:13, “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Generosity and hospitality go together! But how do we practice hospitality like this verse says? To begin, hospitality is far bigger than entertaining. It’s making people feel at home, tapping into one of their deepest longings. In this way, hospitality is bringing people into God space.
Hospitality isn’t about perfection or impressing; it invites people into a space where they can be themselves, unedited, comfy, welcomed. Making people feel at home through hospitality invites them into a Sabbath space – no matter which day of the week they visit. Hospitality is openness, being willing to say, “Sure, come on in.” There is room in my life, in my home, at my table, for you. Small but meaningful touches with people gather people in and tell them that you’re glad they are there.
We don’t even need a home to be hospitable, although offering our homes to others can be an extraordinary way to practice hospitality. Author, educator and activist Parker Palmer says it well:
“Hospitality means inviting the stranger into our private space, whether that be the space of our own home or the space of our personal awareness and concern. And when we do, some important transformations occur. Our private space is suddenly enlarged; no longer tight and cramped and restricted, but open and expansive and free.”
Jesus offered this kind of generous hospitality to people all the time, and he didn’t even have a home! Jesus was itinerant for much of his ministry and even described himself at one point as homeless. Yet Jesus offered hospitality. He served large meals like the miracle of the bread and fish. He hosted the most intimate and loving dinner of all time in the Last Supper. And after his resurrection Jesus cooked breakfast for the disciples. More than offering food, Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them, making them feel at home and giving them the invitation to a heavenly home.
As we continue to grow our generosity potential, let’s not neglect the connection between generosity and hospitality. Whether it is the hospitality of relationship, the hospitality of home, the hospitality of a meal, the hospitality of rest and refreshment, the hospitality of grace or any other hospitality form, it is one of the most generous things we can do. For relators, creatives, designers, homemakers, cooks or artists, it’s one of the best ways to be generous. But hospitality is for everyone. We all know what it’s like to long for home. Hospitality is as easy as treating others in the ways we like to be treated at home. This is generosity.
Photo Credit: Christian Chen
