The wife of one of our elders asked me recently if I had ever studied a certain book on hospitality. I told her I had not. She said that the ladies had studied this particular book in the congregation we now attend. She wanted to use it because she said many Christian women do not understand that hospitality is a command. I have been thinking about that statement, and I have to admit, I think there is a desperate need to study this subject with Christian women.

I began thinking about the various examples in both the Old and New Testaments of women showing hospitality. I didn’t have to think long or hard to come up with several.

“The Six Gifts of Hospitality” is a wonderful study book on all aspects of hospitality. Laurel Sewell uses Matthew 25:32-40 as her text for describing what these gifts are. They are: the gift of nourishment, the gift of service, the gift of shelter, the gift of benevolence, the gift of comfort, and the gift of companionship. All acts of hospitality fall into one of these categories. When you read the text, everything Jesus mentions fits into one of these categories. If we want to go to heaven, we must be hospitable.

I can speak personally of Laurel’s hospitality. My husband and I have been the recipient of her hospitality more than once. Her husband is the instigator of a lot of their hospitality. He invites people to their home, out to eat, for overnight stays, and devotes much of his time to making people feel like they are special. She is the same way. Time spent with them is always a pleasure. We always leave feeling good about ourselves. What a gift they have!

Laura’s husband, Milton, reminds me of Abraham. In Genesis 18, Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent. Three men approached, and “he ran from the tent door to meet them” (verse 2). He didn’t wait, hoping they would pass by, but rather went to welcome them. This is a great lesson for us. It is a way to show hospitality immediately—greet the visitor at worship, introduce yourself to a stranger, look for ways to let someone know you want to be friendly.

We know that Abraham was entertaining angels and the Lord when he washed the feet of these men, fed them, and provided a place for them to rest. He called himself their servant. That is the way we need to see ourselves.

We have the opposite of hospitality in a man named Nabal. First Samuel 25 relates the story of King David’s request for some food for his men, but Nabal refused. He had a reputation for being harsh and badly behaved. Thankfully, his wife, Abigail, was the hospitable one of the family; and she was able to repair the damage done by her husband and avoid disaster for their family and their servants.

There are many other examples of hospitality in both the Old and New Testaments. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus opened their home to Jesus. Zacchaeus, Aquila and Priscilla, Simon the leper, and others served as welcoming agents to Jesus, the apostle Paul, and others.

Paul told those in the church at Rome, “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13 ESV). Notice that they were to seek out ways to show hospitality.

Paul specifically identifies hospitality as one of the qualifications for being an elder (First Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:8). What would the church be like if the elders were not willing to show hospitality?

Just showing hospitality is not enough. Peter says we are to show hospitality without grumbling (First Peter 4:9). One can show hospitality without wanting to do it, and that means it is not really hospitality. Some people do things to gain attention from others. That is not real hospitality either.

Compassion is key in hospitality. That is why we are never more like Jesus than when we serve others. Jesus felt compassion. Though weary from teaching and healing, Jesus felt the physical distress of those He encountered. He saw their physical pain and their spiritual need.

We can’t teach those we do not care about. They have to know that we care about them as individuals before they will listen to the Gospel. The wrong attitude about doing for others will give us away and make our attempts fruitless.

There are benefits to showing hospitality. We can create memories that will last a lifetime. We become examples to others in opening our hearts and homes to others. We teach wonderful lessons to our children. Our greatest blessing is that we become more like our Savior. Peter talks about being special in the sight of God.
We have been chosen. We are precious. We are a holy priesthood. Peter says, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people”. Know that doing good puts the disbeliever to shame, and it makes us more like Jesus.

Sandra Oliver