Dear Sisters in Christ
Welcome to the second posting of Heart of the Home – a monthly e-mail with articles or snippets of books I’ve read, to encourage and challenge you as you endeavour to be women who love God, serve God, and strive to be Christ-like in the way your live your life. I pray you may find these articles as helpful as I have.
Last week Nigel and I returned from two weeks in Los Angeles for Nigel to attend the Shepherds’ Conference at Grace Community Church. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful time again this year – sitting under the teaching His Word, reuniting with past seminary classmates and their wives, professors, our church family in Los Angeles, and spending time with the Kiwis who came with us from church@riverbend and Hastings Bible Church.
While in Los Angeles we had the privilege of receiving true hospitality from many people and in various ways. It was an encouragement to us and we truly thank the Lord for His working in our lives in this way and for the people He chose to use.
If at any time you would like to be removed from my mailing list, please reply to this e-mail with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
Yours for His service
Sereena Shailer
Hospitality – Option or Command?
Everyone seems so busy these days that showing hospitality is often pushed aside.
We had only recently moved from a quiet country town to a nearby city for a year of further studies. After the trauma of being uprooted and replanted I was eagerly anticipating many new experiences, adventures and friendships. I was not disappointed. Life in the city was exciting! There was always lots to see and do, and there was a special joy in renewing old friendships of former years. But somehow the new friendships just did not seem to be developing as I had hoped.
At first I only sensed the feeling, but then one day I actually heard the words articulated clearly, “But we really can’t afford to have people in . . . and it takes so much time to bake and clean and prepare for company . . .”
The words were spoken by my next-door neighbour, but they somehow seemed to be a sentiment common to so many caught up in the mainstream of life in a bustling metropolis. Times were hard. Life was busy. How could one possibly afford to invite others into their home? I was stunned, and my heart ached. It was not that I had never heard such sentiments uttered before, but usually they had come only as subtle suggestions whispered in careful confidence. Never had the words been spoken so plainly or hit with such sudden force. It was time to do some serious soul-searching. How did I really feel about this matter of hospitality? Was it simply an option to be taken or left – a pleasant pastime to be engaged in as time and money permitted?
Old-fashioned Hospitality
The answers seemed so obvious to me, for I had grown up in a humble home where the door often swung wide to welcome others in. They came as solitary souls or in happy family groups. Some came by special invitation, and others just dropped in unexpectedly. But whatever the case, they were always assured a warm welcome and a hot cup of tea. Sometimes there was popcorn by the fireside; other times, picnics by the seaside. But indoors or out, we shared what we had with joy and gladness. This was hospitality as I had always known it, and I loved it!
It is this same brand of old-fashioned hospitality that my husband and I have sought to practice in our own home for the past 16 years. I like to call it hosting with a happy heart, for it involves opening both our hearts and our home to others. As we have done this, the blessings have poured in and there have been countless rewards. I am not surprised however, for Jesus promised that there would be rewards when He said, "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward" (Matthew 10:40-42).
Yes, experience had confirmed to my own heart that hospitality was indeed a rewarding undertaking, and the Bible had assured me as well. But what else did the Scriptures have to say about this topic. Was there more?
Hospitality Illustrated
Turning again to the Word of God, I was not disappointed. I discovered many passages giving vivid illustrations of true hospitality.
As I read through Genesis 18:1-8, I could so easily picture Abraham and Sarah scurrying about to prepare for their unexpected guests, strangers to their home. Laban was another who provided for his visitors with warmth and generosity, even going the second mile to make sure that their animals were comfortable too! (see 24:29-33). And who could forget the poor Shunammite woman who opened her home to Elisha the prophet (see 2 Kings 4:8-17), or Mary, Martha and Lazarus who provided a similar haven for Jesus? All of these were individuals who shared gladly with others, and they were blessed.
I continued my search and was soon digging with delight into a multitude of New Testament passages. In 1 Peter 4:9 I read, “Be hospitable one to another without complaint” (or murmuring or without secretly wishing you didn’t have to!). Then Titus 1:8 and 1 Timothy 3:2 both speak directly to church elders, admonishing them to be given to hospitality, and more than this, to be lovers of hospitality. In her book, What Is a Family? Edith Schaeffer made some interesting observations regarding these particular verses when she wrote: “It won’t be easy to be a lover of hospitality toward a variety of personalities, some of whom may come barging in without sensitivity and appreciation, but there needs to be a recognition that, before the Lord, we are meant to be striving for that kind of attitude. First Timothy 3:2 says that one of the things an elder needs to be (among other things) is ‘given to hospitality.’ Since he is also to be ‘husband of one wife,’ this is to be an open home, with the wife having a part in the hospitality!”
Searching on, I discovered tucked away in Romans 12:13 the simple little statement, “contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.” There it was again! But this time it was part of the grand book of Romans and an integral part of the renewed mind and life of Romans 12.
In Hebrews I unearthed a real gem of a verse which reminds us, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it” (13:2). Angels in my home? I doubted it; but the Bible said that to those who take in strangers, it is indeed a real possibility. That was exciting!
As Edith Schaeffer so beautifully points out in her book, Common Sense Christian Living, our Heavenly Father has made a practical way for us to not only minister to others, but to serve Him at the same time. This was wonderful!
Obligation and Privilege
So I had searched and found abundant evidence – enough to convince my own heart and mind – that hospitality was far more than an option. For the committed Christian it is a scriptural command, an obligation and a privilege. For me as a woman it is a special gift to be exercised in my home as a means of ministry to those in need. For any wife in ministry it is a God-given opportunity to support and encourage her husband in his work.
Yes, I was convinced, encouraged and blessed. I now better understood the source of the joy that I experienced in showing hospitality. It was not merely a matter of feeling rewarded for having loved and served – the sentiment expressed by Edward Gloeggler when he wrote: “Hearts that open to the love that is God, feel loved in loving and served in serving.” I knew what he meant.
But beyond this I now understood that the deepest source of my joy came from simple obedience to a command of scripture. This could bring me gladness even when the door closed behind my guests without a word of thanks ever being offered. It was at such times that I could rest assured that my Heavenly Father was looking on and smiling His approval, for it was He who said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:10-11).
In this assurance my heart was glad. I was confident that what I had always felt was indeed true.
But what about my next-door neighbour? She was a Christian. Could I explain all this to her? What should I say? Or was there something I could do?
I soon decided that little I could say would change her mind. For I really did not know her that well. In fact, I had never even been in her home, though we had moved in next door several weeks before. During those weeks our children had become well acquainted, playing together with abandon in the common side yard that we shared. For them there had been no barriers to friendship. But with Karen it somehow seemed different. She was friendly but reserved. I longed to know her better, but I waited in vain for an invitation to her home for even a cup of coffee.
Thus it was that I decided that I must take the initiative. It was brilliant fall afternoon when I knocked timidly on her door and asked if she would care to accompany me and my one year old on a walk around the neighbourhood. She seemed surprised, but readily agreed. So we set off, revelling in the vibrant warmth of that autumn day. As we walked we talked, and she opened her heart to me like a flower to the sun. She freely shared with me some of her fears, frustrations and financial pressures, and I listened. Now how was I to respond?
The answer was not long in coming. I must open my heart and my home. Here was a family that needed to be surrounded with love and shown some real hospitality. So my husband was consulted and our two boys as well. Plans were laid, and the phone call was made. Could their boys come and spend the night at our house? And why not bring the rest of the family over for a visit too? Karen hesitated only briefly and accepted. I hung up the phone and started in popping corn and heating hot chocolate. It was a simple evening of sharing simple things. There had been no fuss, no big expense; but there was the blessing of new friendships begun as Scripture was obeyed.
We were only in the city for twelve brief months, but during that time our friendship blossomed into a thing of rare beauty. That fall day had marked the beginning of a special relationship in which we both shared many joys and sorrows and more than one cup of coffee.
By Lynn Keller Gamache. March 1986; Good News Broadcaster.
As this is the only article I have read from Lynn Keller Gamache please do not assume that her inclusion here is an endorsement of all her material, or that this statement reflects a non-approval of her writings.
