Who is the most hospitable person you know? What makes you feel that way about him or her? What do they do or say that makes you think of them in particular? The dictionary suggests that it means “welcoming a guest with warmth and generosity, well-disposed toward strangers or having an open and charitable mind”. Perhaps it is someone who simply loves and lives out the word COME. Just hearing that word indicates to the listener that he/she has been noticed, is worthy of attention and is welcome. To be invited to join in on some activity or project or special event is often a privilege and can mean a great deal to the recipient as well as the host or hostess.
Have you ever thought about the many times when Jesus invited people to come? His invitations were extended to a wide variety of people and for many different reasons. Sometimes he noticed the individual and extended the offer to “Come and follow Him”. At other times He provided the crowds with food, comfort, or safety when they accepted His offer to come and be with Him. Remember when He told His disciples to “Let the children come to Me”? On other occasions He invited Himself to someone’s home so that He could spend time with them in their own environment, helping them to realize that He not only noticed them but totally accepted them. Jesus exemplified the idea of “hospitality” every day in so many ways.
The invitation which Jesus extended while He walked this earth is still a very real one, isn’t it? God’s great desire for us is to come to Him in faith, believing that His offer of forgiveness and eternal life is still a very real offer. The amazing truth is that as we not only come to Him, but continue to follow Him in obedience, His Spirit will enable us to become the person He has designed us to be. There’s no more exciting or fulfilling way to live today and to anticipate life with Him forever.
