In the time when the New Testament was written, there were no motel or restaurant chains. People depended more on the willingness of strangers to open their homes to provide hospitality. Peter wrote:
Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 1 Peter 4:9 (NLT)
Jesus made hospitality a measuring stick of our willingness to put his teachings into action.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Matthew 25:34-36 (NLT)
In this article, I will show how hospitality is a ministry skill or practice that can be effectively used in our pursuit of fulfilling the Great Commission.
The first element of the Great Commission is the “GO.” We are not called to build structures to host all our outreach and evangelism efforts. That is the “efficient” easy way to try to do evangelism, but Jesus asked us to pray for God to send out harvesting shepherds who will leave the comforts of home and church to go into the ripe fields of our neighborhoods looking for those who need Jesus. (Matthew 9:38) The going part of the Great Commission can be pursued by those minority of individuals who have powerful evangelistic pulpit ministries and can attract large crowds to hear gospel messages. Most disciples, however, do not have such a ministry gift and must rely on more down to earth methods to catch people for the kingdom of God. That is where hospitality comes into play.
The concept of lifestyle evangelism is built on the premise that relationship building with our friends, neighbors, and coworkers is the gateway to catching people and making them into missional disciples in their own right.
There are no shortcuts in relationships. Whereas, one can “button hole” a stranger in order to share a “one minute” version of the gospel, the kind of trust that allows us to speak to the deeper issues in a person’s life can only be built the old fashioned way – through making the effort to build a genuine relationship. Where do we start?
Most of us live in neighborhoods in which we probably don’t even know a great number of the residents.
How do we break through the invisible barrier we have erected against truly knowing one another? I believe it starts with a decision to be deliberately outgoing.
Fortunately we do not have to be extroverts to be good at this. Most of us are mixtures of introversion and its opposite. We can learn to function effectively as an extrovert, even if we are not naturally internally motivated to engage people. Our motivation springs from our commitment to the Great Commission and our compassion for people whom Jesus described as “harassed and helpless” sheep who have no Shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)
Our decision to become interested in our neighbors should result in sending prayers to heaven on their behalf and into making the effort to speak to them when we have the opportunity. Here’s a thought: if we don’t talk with people, we will never get to know them or be able to share the gospel with them.
Being an island to ourselves is antithetical to the Great Commission.
Once we begin to have conversations with people, we are going to learn all sorts of things about them, which can give us opportunities to pray for them and otherwise speak into their lives. It also gives us the chance to receive from them. Good relationships are never one-way streets; so, don’t be just a giver. Learn how to receive. There are not many things worse than a know it all. If there is no give and take, we don’t really have a relationship. We are simply hunting for a gospel trophy. If we are properly motivated, we love people just because that is the right thing to do. Our love must be as unconditional as God’s, or people will see right through us.
I put visitation next on the list.
Talk is fairly cheap, but a visit speaks louder than words.
When our neighbors allow us to come into their homes, they open up their lives to us on a whole new level. The favor needs to be returned by our asking them into our homes, too, just for a visit, or perhaps for a meal.
Once we start building a deeper relationship over a shared meal, we are truly entering the land of biblical hospitality.
Showing hospitality has its own reward, but what if it results in our being able to help a neighbor experience God’s love through the gospel? How can that be properly valued? That is a big reason why we are here.
(A great resource on this topic is a book by Rosaria Butterfield entitled The Gospel Comes with a House Key.)
