Big Takeaway: “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” 1 Peter 4:8-9 (ESV)
Have you ever invited guests into your home who made a mess?
A few weeks ago, Kyle and I invited our close friends over for “Pizza Friday” at our house. We love this family and enjoy spending time with them because our kids are all around thesame ages.
Their toddler son was having tummy issues that Friday night and needed his diaper changed before we began eating dinner. Kyle and I were filling our plates with triangle-shaped pizza slices while my friend held her son’s hand and led him to our rug to change his diaper.
Within a few seconds, I heard my friend gasp and say two words you never want to hear: “Oh no!”
By complete accident, some of the contents of her son’s diaper had spilled onto our new beige rug.
To put it plainly: our rug had poop on it.
If you could put a face to the word “mortified,” that is what my friend’s face said, and if I were in her shoes, I would have felt the same way. Wouldn’t you? We promised her it was okay, and it was, but my friend continued to apologize for the mess.
We scrambled to find paper towels and cleaning supplies, ready to bend down on our knees to scrub out the stain and the smell when it hit me: This is what Christlike hospitality looks like.
It’s not about having the perfect tablescape or a hot, gourmet meal prepared; it’s about inviting people into your home and being willing to clean up messes whether you made the mess or not.
It’s prioritizing people's hearts over their (or their son’s) “poop.”
Doesn’t Jesus do this for us every day?
He loves us despite the messes we make, and always invites us back into His presence.
Friend, as you open your home this month, remember that some people’s messes may be easy to see, like a stain on a rug. But other times they aren’t as easy to see, like a discouraged spirit or a hurting heart.
Will you welcome them inside anyway?
Will you provide an environment that doesn’t turn away “messes”?
Reflect:
Try to memorize 1 Peter 4:8-9 (ESV), “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
Who can you invite into your home this month? How can you show them they’re accepted as they are, and more importantly, that Jesus loves them as they are?