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1 Peter 4:9
“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
Love is the chief Christian virtue and the one that will continue forever (1 Cor. 13). Therefore, we are not surprised that Peter includes it in his list of instructions for Christian living as we anticipate the return of Jesus and the final judgment (1 Peter 4:8). In today’s verse, the Apostle gives a specific example of how we are to love others when he writes that we must “show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (v. 9).
Commentators note the importance of hospitality in the early church. Humanly speaking, the spread of the gospel in the first century depended on believers’ willingness to receive traveling missionaries and preachers to minister in their towns because lodging was expensive and some innkeepers, Jewish and pagan alike, viewed the early Christians with suspicion. Without Christians’ providing room and board to these individuals, the progress of evangelization and discipleship was slow or impossible in some places. Furthermore, the first Christians gathered for worship and teaching in homes (e.g., see Rom. 16:5). This would not happen if believers with larger houses did not allow local congregations to meet there. Hospitality, then, was a matter of survival for the early church.
In the modern West, Christian hospitality is not a matter of life and death in the same way, although the situation in some parts of the world is very much like that of the early church. Nevertheless, Christian hospitality is still a calling for all believers. As we are able, we are to receive others in our homes, assist those in need, and so forth. The hospitality shown in acts such as hosting a Bible study or having others over for a meal after church assists believers in growing in their affection for one another and allows us to disciple one another. Inviting non-Christian friends and family members over for a meal or to a party with other believers can open up doors for sharing the gospel.
Peter says that it is not enough to show hospitality but that we must show it “without grumbling.” To be hospitable to others requires an investment of energy and resources, and we can complain about this even if we are being hospitable. This should not be. John Calvin comments: “It is a rare example that one spends himself and his own on his neighbor without any disparaging reflection. . . . The Apostle would have us to show kindness willingly and with a cheerful mind.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
The kind of hospitality that we can show differs depending on factors such as our resources, time, and family situation. Nevertheless, we are all called to be hospitable in some way. This can mean hosting people ourselves, informing church leaders of needs in the congregation, directing people to the hospitality ministry, or bringing a meal or outgrown clothing. Let us be as hospitable as we can when opportunities arise.
For further study
- Proverbs 22:9
- Acts 21:7
- Romans 12:13
- Hebrews 13:2
The bible in a year
- 2 Chronicles 13–15
- John 15:1–17