4 MINUTE READ

From Luke’s Journal June 2024  |  Vol.29 No.2  |  Christian Hospitality

Hospitality generally refers to receiving and welcoming guests and being kind and friendly to strangers. This is most often associated with “opening our homes” and “inviting others to a meal”. However, if we consider 1 Peter 4:9-10, right after being instructed to “be hospitable without complaining”, the passage goes on to include “using our gifts to serve others”. As Christians, hospitality helps us to shine God’s light and share His love. Our desire to be hospitable and to serve is motivated by our love for God.

“Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God”
1 Peter 4: 9-10 HCSB

Fundamentally, hospitality is about generously loving and serving others without expecting any return. It is about cultivating a relationship, being interested in others, valuing others, and putting others before ourselves. From this perspective, as Christians, hospitality is less about the home or the meal, but more a matter of the heart.

That’s the kind of hospitality I felt while reading Boomerang Joy, by Barbara Johnson. Through her 60 devotions about spreading joy, Barbara exuded joy and encouraged me to do likewise. Barbara’s personable writing style and her delightful sense of humour made this a joyful read, even as she recalled her share of life’s unpleasant moments. Spreading joy was, without a doubt, her act of hospitality. Her motivation? A constant thankfulness for God and a deep desire to share His love.

In the opening devotion entitled ­ “Fling out Jesus’ joy”, Barbara shared that she ran Spatula Ministries. Every year, from her birthday (Dec 14) to Christmas, she would telephone each family from Spatula Ministries who had lost a child during the year. Having lost two sons herself, she wanted to let them know that she understood and cared that it would be the first Christmas without their child and be a listening ear. In her writing, Barbara encouraged us to reach out and express care to someone in need, a sentiment that resonated with the underlying message of Proverbs 11:25, which was also reflected in each devotion’s conclusion, featuring a relevant Bible verse and a prayer.

“He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25 NLT

In another devotion titled, “Nestle, don’t wrestle”, Barbara recalled an episode from The Oprah Winfrey Show with guest, Billy Graham, who was interviewed about his way of drawing people to the Lord. She shared, “I’ll never be a Billy Graham, but I hope to be a woman who is real and compassionate and who might draw people to nestle within God’s embrace”. In this devotion, Barbara suggested that we can all do that, “Each of us can pull another shoulder under ours. Each of us can invite someone in need to nestle next to our hearts. We can give a pat on the back, a simple compliment…We can smile at a stranger, say hello when it’s least expected…speak to a person who shows up alone at church…”.

In “God’s spiritual stove”, Barbara shared her perspective of the church as “God’s spiritual stove” explaining how we are to fuel each other “in the form of encouraging words“, and “stand[ing] by someone who is standing alone”. In this devotion, she includes a story about a little girl who was late going home because her friend tripped and broke her doll. The little girl told her mother, “We knew we couldn’t fix it, but I stopped to help her cry”. Although a far cry from providing a meal or welcoming someone into our home, this resonates the spirit of hospitality by being interested in others, putting others before ourselves, and making others feel wanted and valued. May you be encouraged to use your gifts to serve others, to spread joy, and to come up with creative and unique ways to be hospitable to those around you.

Boomerang Joy: Joy That Goes Around, Comes Around
by Barbara Johnson
ISBN‏: ‎ 9780310231998
Harper Collins Australia 2000

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