GOD'S HOSPITALITY

The hospitality of the Lord Jesus for us is a home filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread and a feast for all senses. He makes a fuss over us. Consider this for a moment: God’s hospitality in all of life to us. He gives us everything to enjoy in what we see. What we behold. Color. Pristine definition of contrast and shape. The arrangement of a well-dressed meal on a white plate. The comeliness of a person’s happy face…Consider how God puts attention in pleasing us through the sensation of touch. That strange feeling in your palms when you just hit a line drive past the shortstop from the sweet part of the bat…just the feeling itsef makes you want to run to first base like a dog with your tongue hanging out. He loves to delight us in the trifles... The feeling of a cup of hot chocolate around the crest of your hand, or even better the waterfall of chocolatey goodness coating your insides like a happy engine. What about that feeling of a fleece blanket on a sleepy Sun afternoon?
Hearing…Why do certain people’s laughs just make you smile? Could sound waves not be so enjoyable? Yes, but that’s not God’s original intention with them. I like the sound of a not—too-close F-15 with full afterburners ignited. (It’s when you see that orange glow appearing from the backside of the turbines.) It just makes you want to shout—YEAH!! Just the sound makes you feel like a man.

It’s a guy thing.

What about music that stops you cold in your tracks, seizes your entire being and takes you to another dimension. The sound of a campfire crackling. Coffee brewing…a toddler’s attempt to communicate……. Glory.
Could you ever have imagined how much good sensation comes from little things called taste buds? Why do we get enjoyment from chewing food? The ungrateful and inhospitable just think of the science of the glory of food something called, "Mastication." "Mastication is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion and it increases the surface area of foods to allow more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, the food is positioned between the teeth for grinding by the cheek and tongue. As chewing continues, the food is made softer and warmer, and the enzymes in saliva begin to break down carbohydrates in the food. After chewing, the food (now called a bolus) is swallowed. (Just reading this descrip is laborious!) It enters the esophagus and via peristalsis continues on to the stomach, where the next step of digestion occurs.” Eeeehh. Have we forgotten the irony and fun of life? What happens when we lose the wonder and delight of life? We’re like the trolls in heaven in Lewis’ Last Battle who can’t believe and so they spit out the five star meal in front of them because it has become manure for them. They’ve lost thankfulness.
We can take all this for granted. But all of it is a gift, God’s hospitality to us.

Supremely, we know the Lord’s hospitality by the forgiveness we have received from him. God’s hospitality is realized in the incarnation and eventual death of the Lord Jesus. He came with us in our five senses, the sensation of pain in particular. He invited us in. He took our sins upon Himself and bore them on the cross. Ultimate hospitality. And now, through his death and life, He welcomes you in His presence by the Holy Spirit. He is truly present with us and He is our host. He eats a meal with you in peace, and invites us all to that Meal of all Meals—the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.