Hospitality from who we are

Today in a meeting we were talking about hospitality, and the people around the table were sharing experiences they had had receiving hospitality. Mark said that hospitality comes from who we are.

We kind of let that remark pass by unnoticed, but I think it is very true. Hospitality comes from who we are. Perhaps the best way to prepare to share hospitality is to define, for ourselves, who we are.

So much else is like that as well. In order to act as the church, we need to discover who we are. When our actions are born from who we are, they are genuine and authentic.

When a church says, "I am welcoming - that is part of what makes me who I am," then its actions will be one of a welcoming church, if the members understand their identity and are willing to let it give birth to their actions.

I've experienced true hospitality, and I've experience patronizing hospitality, and there is defiantly a difference.