The Welcome Mat - A Lesson in Hospitality
In times of transition, we often want to do things differently from one phase to the next. When we graduate high school, we seek to be treated like an adult, so we take on more responsibility like attending college or moving out of our parent’s house. When we change jobs, we want to bring our best to the next position, so we do everything in our power to be our best self. When a relationship ends, we make every effort to take the best parts with us and learn from the difficult ones.
For me, this came down to a welcome mat. We were getting our house ready to sell and our old welcome mat was worn out. It originally had a beautiful design on it, but over time it had worn off. I searched and searched for a new mat, but wasn’t satisfied with the options. I honestly could have picked anything and it would have looked better than the one we had, but I wanted to pick one that we could take to the next house so that I was being efficient with our money.
But that’s why I couldn’t just pick anything. I wanted the mat to say something, evoke an emotion. I wanted people to know that they truly were welcome in our home before they even crossed the threshold. Mats that read “Oh, hello.” and “Hey Y’all” weren’t the sentiment that I was going for. Maybe I was asking too much of a welcome mat.
The Bible highlights the importance of hospitality all throughout its pages - from Genesis to Hebrews, from Titus to Luke and many more in between. We even have an art piece up in our house containing Joshua 24:15 “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
What does that look like exactly? Serving the Lord takes on many forms, all according to His will and purpose for you and your life. For us, serving the Lord in this upcoming season of living in a brand new place meant serving others by opening up our home more.
We all go through busy or more frenzied phases in our lives, and we were coming out of a stressful season. Practicing hospitality can often fall by the wayside during those times because it takes work. Though some do have the spiritual gift of hospitality, for others (myself included) it involves being intentional. It doesn’t just happen!
We put our house on the market and kept the old welcome mat because our realtors said it wasn’t something that buyers were going to pay attention to. Our house quickly sold and as we cleaned everything out, I threw away the old welcome mat and decided I would find a new one after we moved.
Then one day while roaming the aisles of Target in our new town, I saw it. A brown mat that said “Welcome Friends” in simple script with a small branch as the only embellishment. It was perfect. We wanted all who came to our home to know that they entered as friends.
Ministry doesn’t only happen outside of our homes. Welcoming people into our spaces, inviting meaningful conversation, deep belly laughs, and a safe place to just be is ministry too. In Acts 2 after Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, the Bible says in verse 46 that the new believers were “day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.” What better way to show the love of Jesus than to open our doors and invite them in?
It doesn’t have to take a major life transition like a cross-country move to spark a change in us. It also doesn’t mean that we host 50+ people for a five-course meal all the time either. We can choose to open our hearts and our homes to what God may have for us, no matter our circumstances.
God isn’t beyond a cup of coffee with a new friend. Nor is He beneath a quick hug and prayer for a neighbor who is struggling. He’s there for it all and wants us to live in community with each other - open hearts and open doors. And maybe even a kind greeting from a welcome mat.
