Home As A Resource

Home as a Resource

Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

1 Peter 4:9

The group from a local nonprofit, along with a videographer, arrived a little after 9:00 a.m. By midmorning, my house had been turned upside down for a video shoot. My dining-room table, now covered in plastic and paper, was placed in my living room, while my couch was disassembled and trundled into two separate rooms. Coffee and conversation abounded, and the house was full of people and lights and craft projects. As someone turned to thank me for letting them use the space, I shrugged and said that I really didn’t mind.

It was true, and yet it was for radically different reasons than they perhaps imagined. You see, I had experienced a major readjustment in my heart and attitude after hearing my friends’ story about their own home. A few years ago, my friends decided that they would be fine with a smaller home and considered downsizing. However, after thinking about it further, they decided to remain where they were, but with a mind-set shift. No longer would they consider their home to be a possession; instead, they would think of it as a resource like any other. Instead of trying to protect it, they would use it to pursue community and offer it as a space to host meetings, meet new friends, and encourage and minister to others.

Hearing their story, my husband and I (especially me, with my sometimes hermit-like ways) felt convicted. How often had we opened our home to others in the past few months? And when we did, how often was it done begrudgingly rather than cheerfully, as Scripture calls us to show hospitality?

With their story fresh in my mind, the next time my husband asked if we could invite a new couple over to our home, I said yes. When opportunities arose to host gatherings, I began to say yes as often as I could. And when I was asked to host this video shoot, I said yes—cheerfully.

—Kristin

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Do you consider your home or living space a resource or a possession? Use your personal space to encourage or help someone else by inviting them in.