5 principles for hospitality when you’re young
Living with your parents can make hospitality hard. Find out how to make it easy.
The Bible calls us to hospitality. It’s not always easy, but it’s a great way of showing God’s love to others.
1 Peter 4:9—Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
It’s easy to go out for lunch with friends. But it’s a lot harder to invite someone you don’t know to have a coffee with you.
Hospitality can cost money, can cost time and can cost emotional energy. Hospitality is good for the outsider, good for you and serves God.
Christ welcomes us in as strangers, he gives us living water that truly satisfies… at the price of his blood. He is the ultimate servant. We too should welcome the stranger.
However, when you’re younger you might not have a house that you can invite people to. You might not have the money to buy someone a meal. So, we need to get creative!
Here are 5 principles for practising hospitality when you’re young.
- Don’t do it alone—Create a culture where you and your friends welcome all people into your friendship group. Don’t be exclusive! Remember, Jesus welcomes all people into his family.
- Use the resources you have—You might not have a house you can invite people to. But we can still practice hospitality! If you’ve got money, pay for the meal of the stranger. If you don’t have money, you could organise a picnic and bake for the outsider.
- Be vulnerable—If you’re inviting someone to your house, or welcoming someone to a friendship circle, things don’t have to be perfect. Your house can be a bit messy, your friends can be a bit weird. Hospitality can be really beautiful when you’re vulnerable with others.
- Welcome strangers—I find it easy to welcome people I don’t know, who are really similar to me. We both like the same sports, the same music or the same books. I find it hard to welcome those I don’t have much in common with… but we’re still called to show hospitality to them.
- Share food—Sharing a meal with someone always makes it easier to get to know someone. This might be obvious, but it really makes a difference.
You have been welcomed into the family of God. Welcome those who are on the outside using these principles.
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