The Hidden Blessing in Hospitality

We are told to seek independence. Get a steady job. Buy a house. Live in it with your family. Create a comfortable little bubble. Give some money to a good cause when you can. The End. That's the American Dream, right?

And yet more people than ever are struggling with loneliness and anxiety. To be exact, 40 million Americans are affected by anxiety disorders according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. That's almost 20% of adults in our country. If you're like me and statistics are confusing, that's about 1 out of every 5 people you know that struggles with some form of anxiety.

That's wild.

I have a gut feeling that one of the factors contributing to that statistic has to do with the amount of time we spend alone in our own, safe, secluded personal bubble.

What if hospitality isn't only for others, but for you too? What if it's not just a blessing to meet someone else's needs, but it's an even bigger blessing to you?

"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:9-10

This scripture strikes me in a new way today. It is a grace of God that we are able to serve in specific ways. He didn't ask us to serve others with the grumbling complaints of obligation. It's a grace. That means He gave it to us out of love to bless our lives with something we don't deserve and could never earn. Hospitality is a gift to the giver and the receiver, because it blesses both hearts with the grace of God.

“Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” - Matthew 10:41-42

My husband, Tyler, and I recently welcomed a couple of missionaries to stay in our house while they were in town. They were friends of a friend, but by the time they left, they were our friends too. We enjoyed several days getting to know them; sharing morning routines and late nights of talking and playing games. But one particular conversation between my husband and one of our guests struck me.

Guest: "Is there anything we can do to bless you both while we're staying in your house? Any projects you need help with, or anything like that?"

*Pause*

That question alone floored me. The kindness to offer a blessing in any way we needed it while they were guests in our house. Talk about a servant heart!

*Resume*

Tyler: "No, don't worry about that. Just having you here and being able to serve you is blessing enough."

I was in the kitchen for this conversation, but we have a small home so I could hear everything with perfect clarity. When I heard this response, I felt like I understood the phrase, "fullness of joy", because it was so true. I gushed over how kind our guests were, and how much I loved having other people in the house every day of their visit. I thrived on serving them by offering snacks and fresh sheets every chance I got. It just filled me with joy. And once they left, I realized how little I had thought about myself and my own struggles for a few days. I felt fulfilled and alive, as if God meant hospitality to be given and received. It's as if showing kindness to those in need is only half the purpose for hospitality, and I've always been blind to the other half: practicing selflessness. It forces you to consider someone else's needs before your own, and that does our hearts some good.

"Jesus explained, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish his work." - John 4:34

Jesus explains this feeling I had much better than I ever could. Carrying out the will of God is like food for Him. It's sustaining. Satisfying. Energizing. It fuels Him to keep going. I seek to be like Jesus in this way, and this conversation gave me a little glimpse of how truly satiating it is to serve God.