Our time in Costa Rica is finishing up and as sad as I am to leave this country, recently has been a time of reflection in all that the Lord has taught me here. One of the things that is constantly displayed here is what it looks like to work in the spiritual gift of hospitality. And what it means to open your home, churches, and communities and invite others in as if they were Jesus himself. This idea of hospitality is something that has been ingrained into my life (see: having parents who own a hotel). So, what does it look like to sit with a constant mindset of hospitality, whether or not we have a house to open up or not?

 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:1-2

There is a constant outflow from the people we meet and serve with of love and kindness. My team has been lucky to serve in 6 different communities since being here. Each place we went to welcomed us in, invited us to the table with them, and joined us in sharing their experiences with Jesus and as well as hearing ours.

Jesus’ ministry in the bible was able to spread because people worked as a community, no matter where He went, Jesus was invited into homes, given meals, and invited to minister to people. And after He ascended those who spread the gospel as the first missionaries were successful because they trusted that the Lord would provide, which He constantly did by encouraging His children to open their homes and hearts to those spreading the gospel.

I think the idea of hospitality all circles back to the point that as followers of Jesus we give out of our overflow. When we have an abundance, whether it is space in our home, food on our tables, or simply an overflow of joy, hospitality is simply inviting people to those spaces that overflow with the Lord.

The hospitality my team and I have experienced here in Costa Rica is one of the many lessons from the Lord that will stick on my heart and come back to the States with me. To live out life in a way that reflects Jesus is to allow yourself and the blessings you have received from God to be used in their whole for the Kingdom.

Whether it was one of the families from the church bringing us mangos during our ministry days, a family of missionaries from the US opening their home up to us to be in fellowship together on our adventure day, or the love we have received from the members of each church that has hosted, biblical hospitality was a marker of our time here.

Allow the Lord to make you a place where His children are always welcome.

Where has the Lord placed an overflow in your life, and how can you invite people into those spaces and share Him with them?