Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. | Hebrews 13:1–2
This is the third of four principles of simple faithfulness that Peter offers to us in 1 Peter 4:7-11. He tells the first century Christians to: Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. There are two things here, the action and the attitude behind it. Both are important to accomplishing hospitality.
Let’s begin by defining the term. Hospitality is usually thought of as having people over for dinner or welcoming them into the church. These are certainly part of it. In its simplest terms, hospitality is the posture of inviting; treating people like they belong. The opposite of this would be a person who is quarrelsome – looking at people as a foe to be defeated. The Bible has some things to say about not being a violent, conflict-driven person. My favorite is in Paul’s marks of a true Christians list:
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. | Romans 12:18
I love this verse because it reminds us that peace isn’t always an option. Living in a sinful, broken world will sometimes mean conflict. There is a difference between facing conflict and creating it. Hospitality means living in such a way that makes peace the goal; approaching every person to invite them into a relationship. As Christians, we do this because we understand the story that we are part of.
The Biblical narrative begins with God creating a single person (Adam) and then declaring: it is not good that man should be alone. This leads to the creation of woman (Eve), and with her, community. This has implications for marriage, but also the truth that: we were created to be in relationship with other people. It is how we understand our place in this world; it is what creates a sense of belonging. At the end of Genesis 2, we see Adam and Eve living in a trusting, dependent relationship – with God and with one another. Genesis 1 and 2 provide a sense of home – the place where we belong and are known. This world was created to provide fulfillment through relationships. This is best understood through the Hebrew concept of shalom. Roughly translated, Shalom means peace, but it is a peace that is found through the perfect balance of all relationships. Human beings were created to exist in a right order of relationships with: themselves, others, God, and the world around them.
In Genesis 3, this balance gets turned upside down. Human beings disorder this shalom by trying to be like God. They disobey Him and impose their own will on His creation. As they do, they unleash the destructive force of sin. In the rest of the chapter we see the relationship between human beings and themselves marred as they experience shame and cover themselves. We see the relationship between Adam and Eve broken as they blame one another. We see their relationship with God poisoned as they hide from Him in fear. We see their relationship with the earth altered as the work of the cultural mandate – Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it – will now cause pain and fight against us. In this, the creation that was meant to be home becomes hostile. What was supposed to be a place of belonging feels foreign and uninviting.
God does not just leave His people to suffer these consequences, but calls them to Himself. Throughout the Old Testament, He creates a mediated relationship with his people that also has rules for how they live in relationship with one another. God takes them from oppression to a foreign nation to a home. When they arrive in the Promised Land, they are a unified people, with a renewed relationship with God, in a place where they belong.
It is not Eden, as sin exists and relationships are still a shadow of things to come, but we get a vision of the Kingdom: God’s people, in a place given to them, under the loving care of the Creator, with His order provided for them in the law.
When Jesus comes to earth, God takes this a step further. Now God is not in a mediated relationship with His people, but He lives among them. They no longer have to practice the ceremonial steps to maintain relationships, because Jesus’ sacrifice pays the price once and for all. The law is no longer given to them from the outside, but it is written on their hearts, as the Holy Spirit dwells in them. All of this completes the promise that God made to his people in the prophets, saying:
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. | Jeremiah 31:33
The people of God have been transformed and equipped to bring the kingdom and shalom to the creation. To be clear, the Kingdom will not be seen in fullness until Jesus returns and restores His creation where: His people will dwell in His presence, under His rule. This will also be where we experience complete shalom, as all creation is under the authority of Jesus and:
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” | Revelation 21:4
As Christians, we recognize who we were created to be, how that got messed up, and what the perfection that we have awaiting us looks like. We should orient our lives toward who we were created to be, pushing back against the destruction of sin, as we invest in the Kingdom to come. As we do this, we become ambassadors for the Kingdom, living out the invitation of the gospel in how we invite others in. Since we were also invited into God’s family, we have no reason for pride. Since the Kingdom of God is given to us, we have no reason to be in competition with others. Knowing the story we belong to should make us naturally hospitable people.
We live in a world filled with people who are experiencing the destruction of sin without the hope of the gospel. They are feeling all of the pain of broken relationships without the relief of redemption. They don’t know where they belong, they don’t know what their lives are for, and they don’t feel loved. I have many articles and books about the crisis of loneliness – I see it around me all of the time. Through hospitality, Christians can show people what belonging looks like. It isn’t just about having people over for a meal (though that is one way to be inviting), but providing dignity and a sense of place that doesn’t exist for everyone.
Inviting people into your life also means inviting in their problems, which is where Peter’s comment about grumbling comes in. We will become frustrated by hospitality if we view it as just one more thing that we are supposed to do as Christians. One more thing to add to the list. Instead, hospitality is about changing your approach to people. Seeing them as lost souls looking for home, just like you and me. The difference between us and them is that we have had our longings filled. We have been given a family and a place and a purpose to live for. Hospitality is one part of how we live it out.