Hospitality

One of the admonishments to Christians in Romans Chapter 12 is to be "given to hospitality." We tend to think of hospitality only as entertaining, feeding, or housing visitors. Yet, Christian hospitality also encompasses HOW we welcome and serve our guests. In fact, the how is much more important than the what or the where. We are to serve graciously and with a heart of love, without complaining (1 Peter 4:9).

This page was traced with a pencil into my interleaved Bible from a coloring page in the Inspiring Women Soul Inspired
Bible Study. Micron pens, colored pencils, and watercolors were used to complete the image.

There are numerous examples of hospitality in the Bible, but my favorite is recorded in 2 Kings 4:8-10.

Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

The Shunammite woman began showing hospitality to Elisha by inviting him into her home for a meal. She recognized this man of God as well as his need of a place to stay when he passed through, so she convinced her husband to add a small room to their home -  I like to think of it as the very first guest room! Not only did they add a room, but they filled it with the things their guest needed - a bed, table lamp, and chair. Without asking anything in return, this couple showed true Christian hospitality!