When we think of hospitality, we tend to think of hosting dinner parties and Pinterest perfect houses, but the biblical definition of hospitality is so much deeper and richer than all of that. In this video, author Jen Schmidt breaks down the reclaiming of hospitality.
The entire video is above, and the complete transcript is below.
I’m often asked why Christians should care about hospitality. And I think often what happens is we need to redefine what hospitality is.
It’s not this Rachael Ray idea of Pinterest perfect parties and long, leisurely dinner meals. I mean, that’s wonderful and we have a creative God. So if you are all about that, please put me on your invite list. But let’s not allow this notion of social entertaining to hijack the heart of what true, biblical hospitality is all about.
As I started diving into the theology of hospitality – and let me tell you, there is a lot of theology – it begins in Genesis in the Garden when our hospitable God, in His first act, welcomes us into the Garden. And as I started seeing the pages of Scripture come alive, I realized that hospitality is a tapestry that is woven almost through every book in the Bible. Ending where? In Revelation around the table of the marriage feast when we are going to be celebrating together. That is true hospitality. Being the hands and feet of Jesus in this world.
Let me tell you, our worldview and what we feel about loving our neighbor and how we interact with them, oh, it says so much about what we think about God. And how we love God impacts how we love our neighbor.
So if you start thinking, “What does hospitality have to do with me? I can’t cook. I don’t have a fancy house.” Let’s redefine the heart of hospitality. Reaching out, being the hands and feet of Jesus, and showing God’s love to those in our everyday life. Walk the road of welcome! Initiate simple invitations.
