Friday, October 23, 2009

Hospitality--An Event or True Love Lived Out?

Vonette Bright, who along with her husband, Bill, founded Campus Crusade for Christ in 1951, encourages Christian women to use their homes as a center for evangelism. Writing in The Joy of Hospitality she explains how hospitality can build bridges to those who need Christ:

"Hospitality is more than entertaining. It is expecting God to do great things through you as you reach out to touch the lives of others. It is focusing our relationships, especially the greatest relationship of all--walking and talking with the Lord Jesus Christ. True hospitality doesn't wear us out or make us feel pressured; life sharing is not entertaining in our own strength. It flows from a heart full of love for others. Christ's love, which doesn't come for our self effort, is a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The love of Christ is what draws people to God. This love transforms a party or other event into true hospitality. Hospitality, then, is not an event; it is a genuine concern for another's well being."


~From Practicing Hospitality by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock