Biblical hospitality: How generosity can transform our communities

A solo parenting mum of two adopted children with additional needs writes:

"This past week has been tough. School productions, transition challenges, parents’ evenings, graduations, all on top of relentless bugs and colds that never seems to dissipate. On my own, the responsibilities might feel overwhelming, especially when considering I work full time. Yet, we are immersed in a church community that literally holds us through their generosity of time and gift of relationship.

"In the space of a week alone, a friend came to sit with one of my children one early morning so I could take another to a health appointment; a family ensured we were invited into their space to watch Euro24 finals; other friends had us round for a BBQ on a scorching day. 

"At first glance, the boys and I are the happy and grateful recipients of such investment, yet I’m so very often told by many in this ‘tribe’ that we are a gift in return, that we model something of the grace of Christ and that we afford the opportunity for people to give the best of themselves to us as family. This is how generosity can transform communities and the lives of families and children who encounter."

Throughout the Bible we see time and time again the importance of relationships, community and deep hospitality. Psalm 68:5–6 says God is “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing…”

Relationships matter to God. God shows this through the Trinity and how Jesus stepped into our brokenness and didn’t hold us at arm’s length. God welcomes us in and invites us to do the same with others around us.

Jesus’ example of generosity

Jesus lived with radical generosity in his relationships with those around him, and in Romans 12:5 we are called to share our lives with others: “so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” In Philippians 2:3–4 we are instructed: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

The call of the Gospel is countercultural. It asks us to live with the same deep hospitality that Jesus had and, in doing so, to live a life that confounds society around us.

So, how can we live with deep hospitality and radical generosity in our relationships, like Jesus did, yet over 2,000 years later?

Living a radically generous life

Choosing a life like this often comes at a cost. But as we sow, we reap character.

What could society look like if the Church fully embraced deep hospitality, building community and providing support for families who are overwhelmed? If everybody in the body of Christ opened their door and fostered or adopted, or through supported lodgings cared for a teenager? Through our work with churches at Safe Families and Home for Good, we have seen the incredible impact deep hospitality can have.

We know that 38,000 children will come into the care system this year, and the number of children in care across the UK has increased by 30% since 2010, meaning 26,000 more children are in care today than were 14 years ago. These growing statistics are alarming, but we can’t imagine a more important role for the Church than here, building communities of generosity who will, at risk of disrupting their own lives, show deep hospitality to these children and young people.

Our society is in desperate need of a cohesive, collegiate response from the Church. In the recent ‘Youth Culture and Trends report’ by the Boy’s Brigade and Youthscape, they found young people are more likely to report feeling lonely and are less likely to have stable friendships and relationships than they were a decade ago. This points to the fact that the fabric of society has a tear in it, caused by individualism and distrust, which the Church can address by building strength back into the integrity of the fabric.

The Church is a global architecture of small, well-placed communities of people in every hamlet, town and city, delivering more children's and youth work than any other provider known to man. And that’s just the start. The church modelled in the New Testament Church, when alive and healthy, is a place to belong, where everyone has a seat at the table, where everyone’s voice is heard and needs are met. We get to play our part in this privileged way of life. But it will take all of our faith to build the strength back into our society.

We are made for community

We are made to be fully known and accepted; we were not made to go through life in isolation. And children in our society deserve to be fully known and accepted in safe, loving homes too.

Children and family matter to God. We are all adopted into His Kingdom family, and the Bible shows us that living in community is the best way for us to thrive.

The word for hospitality in the Bible is ‘philoxenia’, which means brotherly love for the stranger. We are called to extend the privileges of community and family to those who might not otherwise have the standing to accept or expect it, not because of anything they have or haven’t done.

Perhaps if we commit to living as Jesus did, radically loving the marginalised in our society, we might witness the fulfilment of Isaiah 61:4, where the most vulnerable will “rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations” (verse 4). Let us join with God in the renewal of all things and seeing His Kingdom come.

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