Hospitability is the act of generosity and friendship shown towards strangers, and it includes the responsibility of protecting the interests of those received as guest. God admonishes His children to be hospitable as part of our duty to others and in gratitude for the salvation, favour and mercy we have received from Him (Exodus 22:21). Several passages of Scripture emphasis hospitality as a godly virtue (Romans 12:13, 1st Peter 4:9). Hebrews 13:2 says,
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Furthermore, the Bible mentions hospitality as one of the preconditions for becoming a leader in the Church (1st Timothy 3:2). Hospitality has played a very important role in the Redeemed Christian Church of God right from its very beginning. It forms part of our core beliefs and practices. We teach that you don’t have to be rich to look after visitors. You can entertain four people with a single orange by slicing it into four parts and presenting it nicely on a decent plate with glasses of water. May you receive the true spirit of hospitality today in Jesus’ Name.

The Bible admonishes that since we naturally desire to receive hospitality from others, we should show it to others as well. The Lord in Matthew 7:12 says,
“All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
Even when describing the type of fast that God find acceptable, the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 58:7a said:
“Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?”
Deuteronomy 26:12 also speaks about feeding the strangers, the fatherless and the widow. All these verse of Scripture show that we are duty-bound as children of God to provide for the needs of these classes of people regularly. More importantly, Jesus clearly teaches that hospitality is going to be a major criterion that will be used to separate the sheep from the goats on the last day (Matthew 25:33-35). This means that it will be practically impossible for anyone to enter heaven without being hospitable. Jesus expects every Christian to love their neighbour as themselves. He expects us to use hospitability as a tool to spread the love of God and the good news of the gospel all over the world. I pray that you will yield yourself as an instrument of spreading God’s love everywhere through hospitality in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.