We all have a picture in our minds of what hospitality should look like. It may come from past experiences, or it may be a profound image of what, to us, would be the perfect, warm welcome. Comparing our own lives to that image, however, might reveal a drastically different landscape.
We may be discouraged by the circumstances in our lives that seem like barriers to that ideal hospitality. We want to show more people the love of Christ and care for them, but it just seems . . . impossible. Into that reality, however, enter some very helpful authors to encourage us with practical and gentle words of wisdom.
A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table by Tim Chester may be the best book for studying the truths and practical application of biblical hospitality. In it, Chester explores the role of meals in the ministry of Jesus, showing us how Christ is the ultimate host.
A Study from the Gospel of Luke
In this short and extremely thought-provoking study, Chester examines six chapters from the Gospel of Luke. He begins by asking us to finish the sentence, “The Son of Man came _____.” We might be surprised that the end of that is something as seemingly mundane as “eating and drinking.”
In fact, Jesus was often eating and drinking with sinners, tax collectors, and outcasts, much to the dismay of the religious leaders at the time. Christ often used meals as his preferred channel for challenging conversations and invitations to grace.
A Meal with Jesus explores different meals and themes from the book of Luke as well as the immensely practical implications for how we can follow Christ. Chester challenges us to reconsider our approach to hospitality and ordinary meals. He urges churches and their members to view dining tables as centers for discipleship and evangelism.
“Jesus didn’t run projects, establish ministries, create programs, or put on events. He ate meals. If you routinely share meals and you have a passion for Jesus, then you’ll be doing mission. It’s not that meals save people. People are saved through the gospel message. But meals will create natural opportunities to share that message in a context that resonates powerfully with what you’re saying” (A Meal with Jesus, p. 89).
A Meal with Jesus encourages us to reflect on the ways that God, beginning in the Garden of Eden, uses food and meals throughout scripture to show us truths about grace and life. Chester connects these themes with the ministry of Jesus and then challenges us as a church to continue that mission in our specific communities. In this way, we too can take part in a meal with Jesus.
“Tim Chester brings to light God’s purposes in the seemingly ordinary act of sharing a meal―how this everyday experience is really an opportunity for grace, community, and mission. Chester challenges contemporary understandings of hospitality as he urges us to evaluate why and who we invite to our table.” (Amazon description)
Other Recommended Reading
“In Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, Tim and Paul discuss the relational disappointments that we all suffer both in and out of the church. But they are also optimistic about the power of Christian beliefs to redeem and restore our relationships. Rather than presenting new or sophisticated techniques to make relationships flourish, the authors instead focus on the basic, Christian character qualities that can only be formed in the heart by the gospel.” (Amazon description)
“How People Change targets the root of a person: the heart. When our core desires and motivations change, only then will behavior follow. Using a biblical model of Heat, Thorns, Cross, and Fruit, Paul David Tripp and Timothy S. Lane reveal how lasting change is possible.” (Amazon description)
“God did not give us His gospel just so we could embrace it and be converted. He offers it to us every day as a gift that keeps on giving us everything we need for life and godliness. Here is a valuable tool to preach the gospel to yourself daily to strengthen your faith and define what you believe and why.” (Amazon description)
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