As a family we were listening to a John Piper sermon titled “Lavish Giving, Loving Guests, Living Christ.”[1] The summery of the whole sermon was this:

“Are you living so that people are sad when you leave and happy when you come? Have you made a positive impact on the people in your life? Do you make a difference in the lives of your neighbors, your friends and relatives?”

Of course, God wants us to be thankful. He may even be more desirous to see those we encounter flow with thankfulness that we entered their lives.

How are we living our lives every day, lavishly giving and loving guests? Do we avoid inviting people to our home because we’re afraid they’ll stay too long or because we don’t want them to judge our messy house? (of course this is never true, right?!?!) Even in our busy lives we need to take time doing the important things of life whether that be at school, work, or home.

Interestingly, Piper defined adoption as the logical extension of hospitality. When we host people for lunch, for a meal or for a time, we can do it with the attitude of adopting them into our family. Is this how we show hospitality?

We need to let down our pride and ask why it is that we don’t involve people in our lives, delve into theirs, and enjoy life together. Whether you eat lunch with a new person from Bible study, visit with a neighbor, talk to a widow on the phone for an hour, give a friend a ride, take time to talk to someone for just that five minutes when you see them in the store, to learn something new about them and to show them you truly care about this person and his/her life. How can we live as Christ lived, changing people’s lives one day at a time?

Will people be glad that you lived?

[1] See http://www.desiringgod.org/