A Moment To Breathe: Find Rest In The MessSample

The Friends We Invite

Hospitality, it seems, has been relegated to a lost art, a long forgotten practice, an old-fashioned notion. And it’s been replaced by Pinterest perfection instead of people who gather around tables. But what about true, biblical hospitality? I long for a place in time when people were the point, not perfection.

The word for hospitality in the Greek – philoxenia – literally means “lover of strangers”. In a nutshell, Scripture calls us to love strangers and to receive and embrace those who do not share our faith and our values.

When was the last time I hosted someone different from me? Different skin color? Different first language? An unwed mother? A Buddhist? A Muslim? When is the last time I hosted someone who did not look, think, or act like me? When did I last embrace, listen to, take by the hand, receive, or accept someone who does not share my faith or my values?

When was the last time I invested in someone before they were all cleaned up? Jesus did this, many times. In fact, He invited me to have dinner with Him, long before I was all cleaned up. And, of course, I’m still in process.