Romans 12:13

Share with the Lord's people in need. Practice hospitality.

These days we think of hospitality as bringing people into our homes and feeding them. I have a friend who is truly gifted in this. She's amazing! She loves making others feel welcome and her house is almost always ready to have visitors. I am NOT gifted at that kind of hospitality. My house leans toward cluttered at best and grungy in its full glory but that's ok. When God gave me this verse and told me that this was my calling my first thought was, "Lord, have you looked at this house?" but He knew that I would rip the scripture apart and put it back together again so that I truly understood what He wanted me to do.

 "In the Bible, the original Greek word for "hospitality" is philo-xen-ia, which means "love of strangers." The Bible contains innumerable references to exemplary hosts including Abraham and Sarah; Ruth; Rahab; Joseph, the father of Jesus; the woman who enters an assembly of men and shows hospitality to Jesus; the Good Samaritan; the father who welcomes home his son who has been the prodigal; the "sheep" who are separated from the "goats" at the last Judgment; the couple walking the road to Emmaus on the first Easter; and Jesus himself."
This excerpt from The Radical Hospitality of God  -  Part I http://www.iucfc.org/images/God_s_Radical_Hospitality.doc  

I may not set the prettiest table or have the fanciest food but when someone needs my help and God brings them to my door or to my knowledge I am more than willing to meet their needs and pray for them. There are few things I enjoy more than bringing food to those in need. I am meeting a very physical need in their lives and a spiritual need in mine. I am to love my neighbor as myself and when I do that I feel that I have been blessed instead!