Christian Hospitality: How to Love Your Neighbor
What is Christian hospitality, and why does it matter? Learn how God calls us to love our neighbors and how you can put this into practice in your own home.
For well over a decade, I've shared all my favorite family-friendly recipes for everything from busy weeknights with your kids to fun and festive celebrations like Christmas and Easter.
But it wasn't until this year that I truly started to see these efforts as something that could bring a sense of hope and love back into an increasingly dark-feeling world.
In the last few years, loneliness has become one of our society's greatest problems but it also happens to be the trickiest thing for us to solve with a new law or governmental program.
You can't fix loneliness without love.
And I have yet to see a candidate running for office on that platform.
So it is my belief that if we want to truly be the change we want to see in the world, it all comes down to loving our neighbors and good old fashioned Christian hospitality.
I'm not talking about just our "theoretical" neighbor, but the ones who are actually, physically:
- right across the street or next door to you
- parked behind you in the car pick up line
- standing in the lobby at your children's school
- sitting in the cubicle next to you at work all day
The real world people who make up your community, we need to all be better about loving on those people and using our talents to serve each of them.
So how can we put Christian hospitality into practice and finally walk the talk?
Jump to:
What is Christian Hospitality?
"Speaking biblically, hospitality is treating strangers and friends alike.
It is welcoming one another into our homes and lives.
Hospitality is a sacred duty."
- Chris Surber, Pastor at Liberty Spring Christian Church
Bible Quotes on Hospitality
During my morning basket Bible reading time, I've been highlighting passages all year about the importance of celebrating God's gifts with family and friends and inviting one another into our homes.
But there are several specific bible quotes that address Christian hospitality in particular:
1 Peter 4: 8 - 9
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Matthew 25: 35, 40
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
Hebrews 13: 1 - 2
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
Galatians 5: 14
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command:
"Love your neighbor as yourself."
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Why It Matters
A new report suggests that 36% of all Americansโincluding 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young childrenโfeel โserious loneliness.โ
Does that statistic surprise you? It does not surprise me even a little bit.
Over half of Americans in those specific populations are suffering. They may not be the poor and the sick but they are absolutely worth our time and effort to minister to.
Making connections with new friends, especially if you've moved to an area far away from where you grew up like we did, is so very difficult.
But community and friendship has to start somewhere. Someone has to be willing to put their invitation out there first.
Why not you?
What to Celebrate
This part just happens to be my super power.
I never met a holiday or special event I didn't want to mark with a party.
Whether you want to start a new tradition for "Friends-Giving" or just want to enjoy the fact that it is Friday, there are a million reasons to be grateful for all God's blessings throughout the year.
Why not share that joy with your neighbors??
If you need a more tangible reason to gather, don't miss my list of all the best Catholic feast days to enjoy during the year.
What to Serve
I used to be shy and modest about my love of cooking. I saw it as a hobby, something I did to feed my family, a way to fulfill a need.
Then I read this:
1 Peter 4: 10
"Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God's various gifts of grace."
If you love to cook like I do, it is a very special God-given talent He wants you to share with your neighbors!
Whether you're making a meal train meal for a neighbor in need or hosting a party in your home with plenty of food for guests to enjoy, you're sharing your gifts and loving your neighbor.
God also wants you to enjoy yourself and have fun with the celebration, too.
So what should you serve? Whatever brings you joy to cook.
A Special Note on Meal Trains
One of the most beautiful things we can do to support our friends and family in need is to provide hands-on help with a meal train during difficult times.
Follow this easy meal train set up, refresh yourself with the best meal train etiquette tips, and go love those neighbors.
But what if you don't like to cook?
You don't need to be an amazing cook to be the best darn host on your block, all you need to do is be the one willing to open your home.
God will still love you, and your guests will too, even if you gather a few delicious things from the grocery store and present them on pretty platters.
I've got super easy grocery store bought party menus for every season of the year.
But I've also gathered a few lists of practical cookbooks that are filled with the perfect recipes and hosting tips you need for whatever event you are trying to plan.
If you want to enjoy inspiration for specific feast days, you'll love these Catholic cookbooks. If you're looking for easy party menus that any home cook could make, you'll love these realistic cookbooks for entertaining.
The Best Books on Christian Hospitality
W๏ปฟant to read more about how to put Christian hospitality into practice in your own home?
I๏ปฟ think you'll love these books about why we are called to entertain and gather with our friends, family, neighbors, and even "friends we haven't met yet."
Prepare your heart and home to serve not only family and friends, but neighbors and strangers too!ย
Make any space a haven of discipleship, connection, and comfort.ย
As Christians, we sometimes forget the power of an open door to a lost world. Using our homes to live out our faith in the true model of the Great Commission is challenging in our busy, over-scheduled lives.
In this beautiful and inspiring book, wife, mom, and interior design enthusiast Victoria Duerstock offers simple and inspiring ways to prepare our hearts and homes to be open to friends, neighbors, and strangers.
We are all hungry for meaningful connection, but most of us don't have the time to cook complicated meals or plan big gatherings.
What we need are simple, delicious recipes and easy, doable ideas for getting together with friends and family.
Thankfully, that's just what the five women of The Gingham Apron deliver in this full-color lifestyle book that is as practical as it is pretty.
Now more than ever, the world is hungry to gather and thirsty for connection.
Many of us wish to share a meal, share our faith, and share our lives with others. We want to open our home to friends and neighbors for the sake of meaningful community, but weโre overwhelmed with hospitality hang-ups.
How do I extend an invitation? What will they think of my house or the food? Our welcome has been influenced by the messages ofย the world that tell us hospitality is about our ability to be, host, live, andย cook a certain way.
This practical devotional, hospitality book and cookbook equips the most intimidated hostess.
Hosting doesn't require food that takes all day to prepare.
Itโs also not about being perfect; itโs about offering care to one another and building community.
One of America's most beloved teachers and writers, Margaret Feinberg, goes on a remarkable journey to unearth God's perspective on food.
She writes that since the opening of creation, God, the Master Chef, seeds the world with pomegranates and passionfruit, beans and greens and tangerines. When the Israelites wander in the desert for forty years, God, the Pastry Chef, delivers the sweet bread of heaven. After arriving in the Promised Land, God reveals himself as Barbecue Master, delighting in meat sacrifices. Like his Foodie Father, Jesus throws the disciples an unforgettable two-course farewell supper to be repeated until his return.
Make your table a place where your family and friends long to beโwhere they will find rest, renewal, and a welcome full of love.
Beloved author Sally Clarkson believes that meals lovingly served at homeโand the time spent gathered together around the tableโare a much-needed way to connect more deeply with our families and open our kidsโ hearts.
Food and faith, mingled in everyday life, become the combination for passing on Godโs love to each person who breaks bread with us.
Loneliness is an epidemic right now, but it doesn't have to be that way.ย The Turquoise Tableย is Kristin Schell's invitation to you to connect with your neighbors and build friendships. Featured inย Southern Living,ย Good Housekeeping, and theย TODAY Show, Kristin introduces a new way to look at hospitality.
Desperate for a way to slow down and connect, Kristin put an ordinary picnic table in her front yard, painted it turquoise, and began inviting friends and neighbors to join her.
Life changed in her community, and it can change in yours too.ย
What does our Catholic faith teach us about eating well?
Some of us eat too much food. Or we eat too little. Often, we eat without gratitude, without charity, without respect.
But, as award-winning author Emily Stimpson Chapman explains in The Catholic Table, with a sacramental worldview the supernatural gift of Godโs grace can transform and heal us through the food we make, eat, and share.
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