Note:When you hear the phrase “spiritual practice” or “spiritual discipline,” what comes to mind?
Often we think, and rightly so, of habits such as prayer, Bible study, solitude, worship, even fasting. Henri Nouwen once said that a spiritual discipline is something we do to create some space in which God can act.
This month in For Your Soul, Keri Wyatt Kent begins a short series of articles on spiritual practices. These are not offered up in a legalistic, “you have to do this” kind of way, but rather, offered as simple activities you may want to try, that may be helpful in deepening your intimacy with God.
They are simple activities you can incorporate into your life, to create some space for God in your life. You can easily begin practicing some of these disciplines by simply looking at the things you already do in a new way.
Do you ever find yourself longing for more of God? Wanting to experience the presence of Jesus in a fresh way?
Did you ever find yourself wishing Jesus would show up in your Sunday School class or small group of junior highers? To help you as you teach, or at the very least, to put the fear of God (literally) into that squirrelly seventh-grader?
Often, we don’t recognize God in our midst. Certain spiritual practices can help us create some space, be more attentive, and notice God where we hadn’t before.
Jesus said he’s right here, in the needy among us. He told his followers to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned because, “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40, The Message).
The children you minister to may not seem hungry or sick (except when the toddlers hit runny nose season), but in a spiritual and figurative sense, they are. They’re infected, like all human beings, with sin, and need the healing touch of Jesus’ love. They are hungry for truth in a world that feeds them all kinds of lies. And often, they are “overlooked or ignored”—and need someone to offer them hospitality.
The Bible talks a lot about hospitality, but our culture understands the word in a completely different way. We think of hospitality as Martha Stewart-style entertaining, where we beautify our home, set an elaborate table with well-prepared food and drink, and welcome our friends. Biblical hospitality is a spiritual practice that requires us to extend ourselves not to friends who can return the favor, but to those Jesus spoke of in the verse above: the poor, the hungry, the sick.
“In the traditions shaped by the Bible, offering hospitality is a moral imperative. The expectation that God’s people are people who will welcome strangers and treat them justly runs throughout the Bible,” writes Ana Maria Pineda in Practicing Our Faith. “This expectation is not based on any special immunity to the dangers unknown people might present—far from it. Rather, it emerges from knowing the hospitality God has shown to us.”
God has shown you hospitality by welcoming you into his family, by providing the means for your forgiveness before you even knew you needed it.
Perhaps you lead and minister not only to children, but to adults who volunteer or lead in your ministry. Do you welcome them as if they were Christ? Do you think of meetings you lead as a place to provide hospitality to your leaders? That doesn’t mean serving fancy snacks or having hand-written place cards. It means living with the words “whatever you did—you did it to me” in the front of our minds as we interact with others. When we welcome people in this way, especially those we might not ordinarily choose to associate with, we are engaging in the spiritual practice of hospitality. This is a discipline that will help us notice Jesus in his “distressing disguise” of a difficult leader or a withdrawn little girl. And if we let it, this practice will form us into the image of Christ.
The Bible says, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” (Hebrews 13: 2, NLT).
Our family has engaged in this practice in various ways over the years: we’ve occasionally had single folks live with us for a few weeks or months at a time. And over the last five years, we’ve housed strangers from foreign countries who’ve attended training and conferences at our church.
Other times, we’ve practiced hospitality by visiting a shelter in the city and helping serve a meal. Each of these has been an amazing experience for our family, and a way to bless people we don’t know. It’s also something I want to make a more regular practice in my own life.
As a leader, every week you have a chance to practice hospitality, to engage in a spiritual practice which can usher you unexpectedly into the presence of God. You may not have strangers in your small group, but you may have some kids (or leaders) who are sort of strange. They may not be in prison, but it’s possible they’re coming to you from homes that are very painful places.
If you begin to see the things you’re already doing as ways to connect more deeply with God, serving can become not only a way to help others, but a way for you to grow and deepen your intimacy with God. And then, take the next step. Ask God for opportunities to practice this discipline in other places: offering a meal to the families of some of the children you minister to, or inviting your high school students to bring their friends over for a meal at your home. Perhaps even opening your home to a stranger.
Provide hospitality to the people you lead, but pray for and watch for opportunities to practice hospitality outside of your regular serving circle. When those opportunities arise, grab them. You’ll experience a fresh connection with God, and a fresh appreciation for the hospitality God has shown to you.
Copyright © 2006 Promiseland.
