The Discipline of Hospitality

Our August theme for the Today devotions, written by Lloyd Wicker, is “The Discipline of Hospitality.”

When you think of the word “hospitality,” what comes to your mind? Maybe it’s delivering a meal to someone who is sick or opening your home to faraway friends who come to visit. The dictionary defines hospitality as “friendly, welcoming and generous treatment offered to guests or strangers.”

My wife and I operate a bed and breakfast out of our home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through that experience, we’re learning what hospitality involves through hosting many different kinds of strangers. Many quickly become friends, some keep their distance, and a few can be difficult. We’re learning that hospitality is more than just a bed and some breakfast. Often we enter into their lives and share their experiences—and our experiences with them.

Our writer for this month’s devotions, Lloyd Wicker, says, “For many of us, the thought of showing hospitality tends toward shared time with friends and family. But do we consider hospitality as an active expression of our faith? The Bible calls us to welcome the stranger and practice hospitality.”

We’ll learn, this month, about what true hospitality involves as we explore the topic, “The Discipline of Hospitality.”

Lloyd Wicker is a pastor who has served several churches in the United States. Currently he is serving as a chaplain with the United States Navy in Sicily, where he, his wife, and three children have learned in many new and different ways what it means to both practice and receive hospitality.

As you read the Today devotionals this month, may you be refreshed, refocused, and renewed in God’s Word!