Hospitality Defined: Practical Love in Service to GodSample

The Blessings of Hospitality

The fever left her, and she began to serve them. (v. 31)

As a newlywed, I received some advice from a former Sunday school teacher who suggested I open my home whenever I could. She shared the blessings she and her family experienced by hosting missionaries, seminarians, and people from all over the world. I have tried to follow that advice, and I, too, can speak of the blessings that come from hospitality; for one thing, it widens your understanding of the world and God’s work everywhere!

We see the pattern of blessing in this simple story from Mark’s gospel. Early in Jesus’ ministry, Peter and Andrew brought him home for a meal and a place to stay. In their desire to be hospitable to Jesus, they were blessed by him when he healed Peter’s mother-in-law from a fever. (Note her hospitable heart — as soon as she was healed, she was eager to serve them!) The blessings didn’t stop with Peter’s family. His home became a center of blessing as the “whole city” of Capernaum came to his door, and he healed many. We also see that Jesus was blessed by their hospitality. He was refreshed and equipped to carry on his work, preaching and healing throughout the region.

Hospitality brings blessings all around. There are blessings for the guests, hosts, and even those blessed afterward by the effects. This underscores the joy of serving God when we serve his people this way.

Remember how someone’s hospitality has blessed you as you pray.