Skip to Content Area

Hospitality and the Mission of God

How did you spend your Fourth of July? Maybe you spent it by the grill as you and your family savored that delicious smell of burgers only minutes away from your plate. Perhaps you spent it around the pool with friends, enjoying the sun on that one day where you don’t have to be anywhere. Or maybe you sat in your lawn chair, lounging out with your neighbors as you watched the fireworks color the night’s sky.

I spent the holiday at a friend’s house, playing board games and eating pizza. It was wonderful, but not just because I enjoy board games and pizza (though of course that helps). It was wonderful because it was a glimpse of what heaven will be like. Here’s what I mean: in that moment, my friend invited me out of my isolation and into his home. He made room for me at his table and there we enjoyed each other and the company of others. On that evening I received his hospitality. Heaven is a place like this. It’s a place of hospitality because hospitality is central to the mission of God.

In Luke 14:12-24, Jesus was at a dinner party with a bunch of Pharisees. At this dinner, Jesus told them a parable about the kingdom of heaven. A man decided to throw a party and he sent out invitations. The first guests declined, but the man in the parable wouldn’t settle for an empty table. Instead, he went out to the “streets and lanes” and to the “highways and hedges” to find guests. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who holds a great banquet and goes even to the lowliest and most secluded places so that the house might be filled.

We can’t understand God’s plan until we understand his hospitality to us. Jesus describes heaven as a place where God shows hospitality to the outcast and the outsider. Do you know what it’s like to see pictures on Facebook from the party you weren’t invited to? Not this one – God is inviting you. God is going to those who are never invited anywhere and he’s inviting them to his party. This was the mission of Jesus on earth and he continues to do it now through his church. The mission of God is to fill the house, to welcome those on the outside and call them to come in.

Summer’s a good time to reflect on hospitality. Our schedules change; our rhythms are different. There are more cookouts and social gatherings for us to host and attend. As you’re going about your busy summer, would you consider this parable? In Jesus Christ, God has invited you to his party. He has invited you to fill his house. He has invited you to come in. Will you now do the same? Your summer gatherings can be more than a time of rest and relaxation. They can become little outposts of God’s mission in our community. Your hospitality can be a reflection of God’s hospitality as you join with Jesus to welcome others in. What will you do this summer?

In Him,

Tom

Contact

This field is required.
This field is required.
I need prayer I would like to volunteer I would like more information
Send
Reset Form