Getting Organized Helps Us Serve God and Others More Effectively

This blog post corresponds with chapter 2 of our book.

I Peter 4:9 NIV Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

True confession time. How do you feel when someone is coming over for a visit?

Do you panic, thinking of all the cleaning and organizing that has to be done before your house is "company ready?"

Are you excited that you can serve people because of your home?

Are you worried about what people will think when they see your house?

Do you look for opportunities to reach out to others and sharing your home with them?

Do you and your family get stressed out in the process of preparing for company, nearly exhausting yourselves, grumbling and complaining and then put on the "We're so glad you're here face?"

Peter reminds us about the kind of attitude we should have regarding being welcoming, kind and hospitable to others. While he doesn't specifically reference a home, I think his admonition can be applied to that. It's so easy to fall into complaining and grumbling about all we have to do to prepare for company instead of being joyful about the opportunity to use our home for fellowship and ministry.

 
Right now, partly due to an aged pet,* and other choices and changes in this season of life, I confess that our home is often not "company ready." However, sometimes, people end up dropping by anyway. I remember a recent situation where I had spaghetti ready for the family, and was able to offer our young adult visitor a plate on the spur of the moment. As a young man, he seemed eager to take me up on it, not having had dinner yet.

My house was not pristine, but food was available, and hopefully a non-complaining, kind spirit was in the home. That's what hospitality is about. Yes, we are working through getting our home in better order. I'm not dismissing the value of taking better care of our place.  But offering a warm welcome even if the home is not in great order is something I think God is more interested in than whether someone could eat off our floors (they can't.)


*This post was written before my aged cat was laid to rest. I am entering a new season, slowly but steadily organizing the home and seeing improvements. It's a journey, not a destination.

Facebook Blogger Plugin: Bloggerized by AllBlogTools.com Enhanced by MyBloggerTricks.com