Session 7
Is the Holy Spirit leading our hospitality?
From Win at Home: A 14-Day Devotional
In Luke 19:1-10, a tax collector wanted to see Jesus. He was too small to see over the crowds, so he climbed up a tree to get a better look.
As Jesus passed, He looked in the tree and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." Can you imagine the grumbling from the crowd? Tax collectors were traitors, the lowest of the low.
“Why is Jesus going to the house of a sinner?”
“Seriously? Zaccheus? That man must be insane!”
But Jesus was not concerned with what others thought. Jesus only cared what His Father thought, and did whatever the Holy Spirit prompted Him to do — no matter how countercultural it seemed.
Just as Jesus saw beyond Zacchaeus’ job to what his soul needed, the Holy Spirit prompts us to do the same. To worry less about what others think and obey the still, small voice that tells us to buy a meal, invite someone to a gathering, or stop by that hospital room.
This is the heart of hospitality. It’s more than inviting close friends and family to dinner. It’s a spirit of welcome, warmth, and generosity that goes wherever we go.
“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters,” the writer of Hebrews exhorts us. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:1-2).
So start where you are. Cook a little extra and invite a neighbor over. Keep a care pack in your car for the next homeless person you meet. Visit with a stranger instead of scrolling through your phone. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see strangers as Jesus does, and follow His lead.
Reflect:
- Our parents taught us not to talk to strangers, but that’s exactly what Jesus did. Can you think of any other instructions that are good for small children but could stand in our way as adults?
- Have you ever been the recipient of unexpected hospitality? How did it make you feel?
- What’s one way you can show hospitality to someone today?