The Gospel Comes with a House Key:
Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World
by
Rosaria Butterfield
In her newest book, author Rosaria Butterfield challenges Christians to practice “radically ordinary” hospitality. She reflects on the way she came to Christ through the simple hospitality of strangers who invited her into their home and became her friend. As a liberal English professor who identified as a lesbian, Butterfield’s intent was to dispute the Bible and the Christians who preached it. But Ken and Floy Smith didn’t preach to her. They didn’t even recite the gospel or invite her to church. Instead, they spent two years serving her in their home, getting to know her, listening, answering her questions, and caring for her. “I wasn’t their project,” she said, “I was their neighbor.”
So, what is this “radically ordinary” hospitality that Butterfield writes about, and why aren’t more Christians practicing it? It is “using your Christian home in a daily way that seeks to make strangers neighbors, and neighbors family of God.” Real hospitality is rooted in our love for God, the body of Christ, and a desire for our neighbors to know the salvation of Jesus. It’s easy for us to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ, but caring for our unbelieving neighbors is out of our comfort zone. We don’t want to be associated with sinners, but we’ve got to change our thinking. “Our home is not our castle,” says Butterfield, “but a hospital.”
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Listen to the podcast to hear more, including five myths about hospitality and two commitments to keep as we go out into the world and serve our neighbors for Christ.
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