I am meditating on what it means to invite Jesus in our heart/life, and I would like to invite you to share my thoughts through a series of articles that I am starting today.
In the Western world, if you invite someone to come and spend a few days at your home, and if you are a good host, you will do all you can to put them at ease and will see to it that they have the most pleasant possible stay. Attention would be paid to what they dislike (food, TV shows etc.) and will avoid those during their stay, even if they are your favourite ones. You will offer them what they like, instead. Before going to work, you will first come and check that everything is ok with them and that they have all they need. Then, you will call many times during the day in order to ensure they do not feel lonely or bored. On the other hand, the guest also has some duties and the first is to respect the code of conduct of your household. Unless they are particularly badly brought up, it is not their task to criticize your choice of furniture or deco or to ‘correct’ the way that you raise your children. Unless allowed –because of your level of intimacy-, they can’t come into your room or even your children’s room. They cannot decide on the menu or the programme of the day. They can only make suggestions when invited to do so: the fact that they are accountant or psychologist does not mean that you have invited them to poke their nose into your accounts or psychoanalyse you. With time, and depending on the length of their stay –months to years-, as they become one of ‘yours’, they will be at more liberty to do or say things, but always within certain boundaries.
If you don’t treat your guest well, they will never want to come back; and if they misbehave while at yours, you will also never invite them again. In extreme cases, the host or the guest can even decide to shorten the stay.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me. Rev 3:20
In the Eastern world, which is the Bible’s, customs are often very different from those in the West. To grasp the meaning of the LORD’s words, we need to understand the Eastern hospitality. It was regarded as a right by the traveller, to whom it never occurred to thank his host as if for a favour. And hospitality was granted as a duty by the host, who himself may very soon be dependent on someone else's hospitality. The traveller was made the literal master of the house during his stay; his host will perform for him the most servile offices, and will not even sit in his presence without express request. [This is why Jesus says: I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me. It is HE who invites his host to dine with him, whereas in the West, you invite your guest to join you at your table. In other words, when you open your door to the LORD, He comes in, you serve Him and, as you are about to go, He kindly honours you by asking you to sit and dine with Him.] All that the host possessed was readily made available to the guest, including his wife and daughter – this doesn’t mean guests would take advantage of this offer. The host was in duty bound to defend his guest against any unwelcomed intruder and to lay aside any personal hatred – as your guest, even the murderer of your father was safe. This is why Lot was ready to hand his young virgin daughters over to the barbarity of the Sodomites, rather than letting them commit the great sacrilege of abusing his guests (Gen 19:1-8). Things have not changed that much in the Middle East today.
Spend time pondering over these things and try to honestly answer the following questions. What kind of host are you? Have you received Jesus the Western or Eastern way? How do you think He would have loved to be received? If you have received Him the Western way, do you really mind what He likes or do you make Him eat and watch what pleases you? Do you mind His welfare in the morning before busying yourself with your daily affairs and in the evening, before going to sleep? Knowing His expertise, do you often ask Him to make suggestions in this or that area of your life? When was the last time that you’ve made His bed? And how were the new sheets? Clean? Crispy? Smelling fresh and nice? Is He allowed to enter any other room than His?
If you have received Him the Eastern way, what servile services are you rendering to Him? Has He been given right over all your possessions? Is He the Master of your spouse, kids, belongings and time? Do you treat Him like a King or think you are doing Him a favour? In short, whichever way you may have received Him, given the choice, would Jesus wish to spend one more minute in your house, your life or your heart?
We say with David that a day in GOD’s courts is better than a thousand elsewhere (Ps 84:10). Can Jesus say the same about our hospitality? It is never too late to do well or better. If this article has touched you, wake up! Put Jesus at ease. Let Him truly be the Master of everything. GOD bless you as you do so.
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