Through the ministry of hospitality, we provide friendship, acceptance, fellowship, refreshment, comfort, and love in one of the richest and deepest ways possible for humans to understand. Unless we open the doors of our homes to one another, the reality of the local church as a close-knit family of loving brothers and sisters is only a theory.
Nothing distinguishes a church from the world more than it’s love. There’s even a verse that says so, and a popular song with a catchy melody. Alexander Strauch is a new-to-me author, though not at all new to the scene of Christian/Theological Literature. I recently read The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield which fueled my desire to practice practical and frequent hospitality. However, not everyone has the time or desire to read a longer book (though I highly recommend taking the time to read Butterfield’s book if you have the chance). Strauch offers us a short but deep dive into hospitality and the necessity of it. Our hospitality, based upon our love for Christ, His church, and the world, should cause us to look different and offer opportunity to spread the gospel.
This is a command, not a suggestion.
I did not grow up practicing hospitality. We kept to ourselves, laid low, and survived our years as a homeschool family with a single mother. Though there was a lack of practical love and desire to serve others, I can’t change the past. What happened (or didn’t) has come and gone. But, by God’s grace, I can turn things around now and practice the things that I’ve neglected. I would give you, dear reader, similar counsel before (and after) you read this little book.
I have known many families who invited friends over for lunch after church every now and then. But my roommates during my college years demonstrated to me an intentional practice of inviting families over for meals or game nights, having children over to play or to help their parents, opening their extra bedrooms to missionaries or traveling pastors and their families. This hospitality shocked me, but also invited me to experience an entirely different kind of love for the brethren. These roommates remain my best friends to this day and they have inspired me to practice hospitality in my own home.
Strauch reminds us in this call to practice hospitality that true love for Christ and His church will spur us on to good deeds such as hospitality. However, we must not be guilty of thinking that hospitality is only for the most fervent Christians, for the missionaries on the field, or for pastors and their wives. No! Hospitality is a command for every Believer. Strauch doesn’t beat around the bush. I find his writing gentle, but also exhortative and to the point. He won’t hide anything from you, but he also won’t slap you in the face with it. I think many in the church could use a solid kick in the pants on this topic, and jolt us from our loveless doctrinal pursuits like the Ephesian church had to experience (see my review for Love or Die also by Alexander Strauch for more on that topic). The kick comes gently but wisely here!
If you aren’t convinced that hospitality is necessary, or find yourself hesitating, Strauch gives many examples from Scripture (both of individuals displaying hospitality and passages with hospitality commands) that should convict you and drive you to consider how your life should change with these truths in mind. Not only that, but Strauch gets down in the dirt and gives practical advice on starting yourself down the road of hospitality and continuing down that road. I especially appreciated chapter five that gives some tips for preparation and practical aspects of hospitality. For instance, pick a specific time each week or month that you have set aside for practicing hospitality. A lot of these tips will be incredibly helpful for the reader in overcoming any barriers to hospitality and making it easier to have others over on a regular basis.
Another tip offered suggests making a list of everyone in your church who would be encouraged by an invitation to your home. This highlights another necessity of hospitality – a faithful love of all the brethren, even the unpopular or the difficult members. Not only should we open our hearts and homes to the least of these among our congregation, we should also practice loving hospitality towards those outside our churches. Our communities are unique places filled with people we have the blessed obligation of sharing the gospel with. What better place to have kingdom discussions and point to the gospel of Jesus Christ than at your dinner table? The best way to impact our friends, family, church, and neighbors with the gospel is to live life with them by keeping our doors open and the table ready.
To read or not to read.
If I had not already been convinced by my roommates example and Rosaria Butterfield’s writing, Alexander Strauch would have changed my understanding of hospitality. Instead, he merely reinforced what the Lord has been teaching me the last few years. You, dear reader, have the time to pick up this little book and read it through. It’s less than 60 pages if you don’t work through the short study guide at the end. Take the time to be challenged! Be encouraged and strengthened by this book, but don’t leave this information on your shelves. Take it to heart, practice loving hospitality, and pursue love of the lost and of the brethren.
Until next time, go read a good book and invite someone to dinner!
