The Nature of Hospitality
By Kim Rounseville
Loving our neighbors can be hard when we forget who our neighbors are. As children, most of us probably thought of our “neighbors,” as the people who take up residence next door. Neighbors include people who live nearby, but are also the individuals we see in the grocery store, at restaurants, and the people who have no house to live next to. Hospitality is significant to Jesus, making it pertinent to His disciples.
Jesus doesn’t confuse how or who we are meant to love. So before diving into the ways to love, this is who we are supposed to love. Matthew 25:40 states, “And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” We are to show kindness and attention to everyone, especially people who are in need. By extension, being a loving person means loving God. When Christ was brought into this world, he didn’t have the earthly title of a king, nor the fancy privileges of a royal. Jesus was born into a humble family and circumstance (see Matthew 20:28). The same will always be true, that Jesus loves you and your neighbors. There is no comparable investment than people. Nothing monetary is coming to Heaven with us, but we can bring people, if we are willing to make time for the person in front of us.
Loving the people in our midst can be simple, while leaving an enormous impact on the world. Philippians 2:3-4 tells us “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” So, how does this affect how we act towards others? We prioritize people surrounding us. That doesn’t have to be arduous, it can be as straightforward as paying a compliment to someone you don’t know, or buying a meal for a person who can’t afford it. When we think about others first, we quickly adapt to serving others well. Show someone God’s love by treating them as you would yourself. Don’t overcomplicate loving those God has aligned in your path, start small, it can make a monumental difference.
We must work towards loving our neighbors, wherever they are, and whoever they are, it’s what Jesus would do. Anyone we come into contact with is someone Jesus loves deeply. There is a rare beauty in simply stopping to look at who God calls us to love, and making them know their innate value in the way we treat them.