Hospitality: Meet Others

These next posts will talk about how we can effectively communicate with all people about our beliefs. Later on, we will talk about communicating our beliefs with people who hold to religious belief.

Really and truly, people don't care what you think or believe if you don't know them.


Communication begins by creating a safe place to communicate. Otherwise known as a relationship. But it's hard for some particularly religious followers of Jesus to have relationships with unbelievers. There's this belief that we shouldn't be around certain types of folks. And while it is good to not entrust yourself to unbelievers, it is not good for us to abandon them altogether.

Meeting people in our individual culture is sometimes hard. Can I just say, "Please talk to God about this?" People at work may or may not be open to meeting a coworker outside of work. People meet at bars, coffee shops, meetup groups, neighborhood or apartment associations, concerts, festivals, COLLEGE, volunteer organizations, online, libraries, civic centers, etc. You were also born into this thing called a family. More than likely, some in your family don't really know Jesus.

So, dinner at home is good. Inject food into a situation, and people are automatically talking. You might have to eat out if you live in a tiny apartment like mine in the big city. (Can I get some love for Small Space, Big Style?) Hospitality is an art form. If you didn't grow up being hospitable, there is a steep learning curve. Basically, you have to think about how to make others comfortable and you have to find out what they like. I know people who are experts at being hospitable, so I always ask them advice on designing a room or an experience. Play it by ear, but have at least a loose plan.

Learn to find the good things in people's lives and reinforce them. Nearly everyone has some good quality or innocuous hobby. You don't want to find yourself compromising your beliefs by just accepting everything that people do. That's not good for anyone. It doesn't mean you have to point out the faults of others, but you surely don't want to encourage sin.

Be kind. Send people cards. Give gifts. Become a part of their family. Watch their kids. Visit them in the hospital and go to weddings and funerals. Truly love these people. After all, God did this with you. He, in His kindness, pursued you and loved you. It wasn't because He wanted to score against the devil, but because He genuinely cared for you.

This is not a numbers game.

Please comment on some creative ways you have met people or have provided hospitality.

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Religious word of the day: Redemption. The only thing we redeem in America is a coupon. But redemption is a term that is much harder to define. At it's basic core is the example of a slave who is bought and freed. This is the act of redemption, being bought and freed. In the New Testament, we are shown to be slaves of sin, having been bought with the death and punishment of Jesus and freed by unity with his resurrection.