the true and better host

"If I forever try to extend hospitality to others using only the insufficient and limited kindness resident in my heart, then I feel sorry for anyone who ever sits at my kitchen table or lays his head on the pillows in our guest room. If the hospitality I give to others comes only from what I have to offer, then my guests are better off sleeping outside the gate.

Jesus is the true and better host, who calls us into God’s very presence through the sacrifice of his own body. Christ our Lord gives us the greatest picture of hospitality that the world has ever seen. Jesus gave his life so we could be guaranteed a place in his Father’s house forever. He defeated the darkness so we could live in the city that is lit by the light of the Lamb. Now, that’s biblical hospitality! Because of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, God welcomes us spiritual orphans into his forever family. But not only is Jesus the epitome of hospitality; he is also our Savior. His record of perfect hospitality is credited to us as we receive his righteousness by faith. His hospitable work on the cross makes it possible for God to forgive our sins. The heavenly hospitality of the holy Trinity is the grandest gesture of selflessness, openness, humility, generosity, and love that the world has ever seen. God does open-heart surgery on us so that we can have open homes to his glory.

Gloria Furman, Glimpses of Grace