I’ve been sleeping in our guest room the last couple of nights, not because there is trouble in paradise, but because there is trouble in my sinuses that requires all manner of nose-blowing, and causes (much to everyone’s dismay) unseemly snoring.

Yeah, it’s all glitz and glamor over here.

So, I’ve been sparing my man and enjoying the comforts of our guestroom, glad to see that it feels nice back here. I like for anyone who stays with us to feel welcome in our home and comfortable while they’re here. One of my favorite things in the room is a framed original family piece that came from my mother’s family. It sits on the bedside table and looks like this:

Sweet and folksy, isn’t it?

I am sitting here looking at it – especially that last line – and thinking that this is how we’re supposed to live. Not just when people come to our house, but all the time. Our very presence should be rolling out the welcome mat, and inviting people to “be at their ease,” because they’re “one of the folks.” Yet, somehow, we’ve taken to wearing a door with enough visible locks to suggest we live on the less than savory side of the tracks. Forget a welcome mat; there are bars, instead, just for good measure.

Hospitality goes beyond our front doors and into our everyday…our every encounter. We never know when a simple invitation to “share such as we’ve got” will end up as an invitation to heaven itself. So, I welcome you, today, in hopes that you’ll welcome someone else. Roll out that mat, put a geranium by the door, and throw it wide open.

Well, the door to your heart, that is. You might want to leave the actual front door closed for a while. With all the crazy pollen you might find yourself in your guestroom.

Alas.

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:2 ESV

“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” 1 Peter 4:9 ESV

“What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
    sharing your food with the hungry,
    inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
    putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
    being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
    and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
    The God of glory will secure your passage.” Isaiah 58:7 MSG