Friday, May 31, 2024

What do you think of when you hear the word “hospitality”?

For some, it invokes feelings of overwhelm as visions of fancy dinners or hard-to-plan theme nights come to mind. Others might think you need the perfect entertaining space or a super clean house. But hospitality requires none of those things—it’s simply extending welcome to a guest, and it happens by carving out a space to talk and connect allowing someone to feel seen, heard, and cared for. Hospitality provides opportunities to build loving Christian communities through the simple acts of eating and drinking with others as family.

In other words, biblical hospitality is a heart posture. “One that takes strangers and makes them neighbors and neighbors and makes them family of God.”*

It's what Rosaria Butterfield refers to as “ ‘radically ordinary hospitality,” and it’s practiced through inviting others to join us around the table. So ditch the Pinterest-perfect gatherings, shove the laundry in a corner, and break out the paper plates and a simple meal for some refreshing radically ordinary hospitality. After all, we all have to eat sometime, and it’s a blessing to enjoy it with others while imparting God’s grace.

So how can you begin? Here are 3 ways you can incorporate radically ordinary hospitality into your everyday life.

First, you can do this even if you don’t have a space of your own to host people. Remember, hospitality is about creating space to connect with people, and this can be done as easily at a coffee shop or a booth at McDonalds as it can at your own kitchen table. So if having people come visit overwhelms you, remove the pressure by meeting up somewhere you can have conversation and connection. 

Perhaps having someone over doesn’t overwhelm you but preparing food for them does. Instead of a meal, consider simply offering iced tea, or water with lemon along with a simple snack. Perhaps some cookies or popcorn are set out, but more important than the food is your desire to connect with the individual(s) you are visiting with. Creating space and a focused time together will be exceptionally satisfying.

Finally, if you want to share a meal, follow the examples of the early Christians and literally share a meal (Acts 2:46)—that’s right, plan a good old fashioned potluck where everyone brings a little something for others to enjoy. Not only will it provide a conversation starter, but it takes the pressure off one person having to prepare everything. 

Whatever you decide, make plans this week to step into the practice of hospitality and enjoy a connection that will enrich your life and spread the love of Christ. 

*Rosaria Butterfield