One-Slice Baloney Sandwiches (A Lesson in Hospitality)

Romans 12:13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Romans 16:23Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
Titus 1:8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

When we were quite newly married, quite young, and I was quite pregnant, we had just moved and were visiting churches in upstate New York. We had visited this one place a few times and about the third time a family asked us over for lunch after church. We went. When we got there, the house was less than perfect, her three small kids were helping her get lunch on the table. They were making baloney sandwiches because that's what was in the fridge that day. There wasn't a whole lot of baloney so it was one slice per sandwich with a little yellow mustard and out came a bag of chips. My sandwich was touched by lots of little hands that may or may not have been very clean, dinner was certainly not deluxe, but I enjoyed that lunch so much because it was borne of true hospitality. This woman wasn't out to impress us with her culinary skills, show off her house, or put on any airs. It wasn't about the meal. It was about fellowship. She just wanted to make us feel welcome in the body of Christ. We had a great time. I've since been invited to lots of places, some very beautiful homes of very wealthy people, some not. The things that make a home a place of true hospitality are not a five-course meal, lots of square footage, and fine things. The things that make a home hospitable are the people who invite you into it, the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, and sharing their lives with you.

I learned a lot that day. I was much more apt to invite someone over for 'whatever' on the spur of the moment than to wait until I had the time or money to put out a 'spread' and impress them with my cooking. The most recent church I was in hadn't quite gotten that concept yet. We were around there for nearly a year before we were given more than a friendly hello. Finally someone asked us over. It made all the difference. We had been on the mend from some serious spiritual burnout and just needed someone to reach out to us. Hospitality is so important and actually much simpler than we've made it in recent years.

Enjoy your weekend!