Day 3: Getting Your Heart Ready

If you are not born with expertise in something, it takes effort to develop your skills and become proficient. You must commit to practicing that discipline daily. Committing to daily preparation to open your heart and show love through hospitality shouldn’t be overlooked.

Let’s think about it this way.

A new family has moved in on your street, and you decide to invite them over for dinner. You spend hours ironing your linens for the table, hand-kneading a sourdough pie crust and braiding the edges, dusting every baseboard, and even going so far as to plant fresh perennials in the front yard. Your home is inviting and welcoming. It looks immaculate and straight from a magazine and smells heavenly as you open the door for your new neighbors.

What I have just described is not hospitality in the biblical sense. What I have just described is textbook for entertainment, worldly hospitality.

I’m not saying that cleaning your house or preparing exquisite food can’t be part of biblical hospitality. If you desire to show love through a clean house or a freshly baked pie, then your heart is in the right place. However, if you are grumbling while on your knees cleaning the baseboards or thinking about how impressed someone will be with your baking skills while you artfully braid the crust, you might need to do a check and ensure your heart is prepared to welcome people in. . . .

The preparation of our heart requires us to throw off the comparison game with the world and lean into the beauty of imperfect, intentional connection. It calls us to say, “Yes, my home is messy, and I might not have enough food, but I know God will meet us here.” The dishes don’t need to match, the décor doesn’t have to be Instagram-worthy, and the meal doesn’t need to be gourmet. What truly matters is showing up with love and making space for people. If we want to follow his example, we can start by simply being ready: Ready to open the door. Ready to serve. Ready to trust that God shows up in the ordinary, everyday moments when we choose to love like him.

Prayer

Lord, please prepare my heart for hospitality. Please give me the strength and wisdom to know who to invite and how to serve them. Amen.