We see that eating with one another in the early church was one of the most solemn bonds of Christian brotherhood. There is the love feast that happens in the New Testament. And that is something that happens separate from the Lord's Supper. Some scholars put them together as one thing that happens. But we do see these love feasts (or agape meals), where the church is gathering for fellowship around the Word of God. And as they gather for fellowship, they are speaking of the things of God and they are growing. And not only are they growing in their faith, but they are also expressing their needs as a church.

What we believe is to be reflected in the way that we live out our lives. And this needs to be true in the way that we open our homes and our lives to saints that are in need of rest and communion and refreshment. The church must realize that hospitality is based on the nature of God. And God is gracious. God is a God who is good to strangers. And we are obligated to do the same. We ought to have a hospitality that is rooted in grace and goodness. The grace to deny ourselves and serve others is a reflection of the very fact that God sent Jesus Christ to deny Himself and to serve the people of God. We need to understand that our hospitality is rooted in the character of God, and it is rooted in the work of Jesus Christ.¹

Nathan Eshelman