May
26
2011
Cultivating Biblical Hospitality
In the fall, HomeLife magazine is featuring our family's commitment to make our home a hub for spiritual growth and ministry. As part of that, Carrie was asked to contribute a brief sidebar on cultivating biblical community. For a limited time, you can take a sneak peek at it below.
It doesn’t take very long for someone to ask, “How do you do that?” in regards to our family’s commitment to making our home a significant tool for ministry. Immediately their mind runs to issues of cost, boundaries for personal space, and organization. But, most frequently, the question arises of how I balance it with the responsibilities of being a wife, mother to two (soon-to-be four), and an active member of our church and community.
And, in truth, I don’t really have any secret formula. But, I will share what I tell them. I tell them that it doesn’t happen alone. As a family, we believe in our mission. Thus, we all take part in the work of the mission. Jason helps with cleaning, meal preparation, and more. In addition, our boys want in on the action, too. Our oldest son loves to greet people at the door. He also takes pride in asking everyone what they want to drink. Someday he’ll actually be old enough to pour it himself. But, the point is that he’s involved and he’ll grow into his role of hospitality eventually.
But, most importantly, we commit our home to the Lord in prayer every day. Each night we thank God for our home with the boys. But, we also all pray for those friends and family that God has blessed us with. These things are intimately connected. Because, above all, hospitality is an issue of the heart. The more you love people, the more likely you are to serve them. And for us, serving is often done best within our home.
