Non-Western people are generally much better at offering hospitality generously.  It is part of their cultures to welcome strangers (Hebrews 13:2).  Yet the church in Rome was caught between ancient traditions of hospitality and the aggressive self-seeking, self-serving mentality of the metropolis.  The Jewish background believers were also reluctant to share a meal with Gentiles (Acts 10:28).  With so many people passing through the capital of the Empire, it was important that believers were treated as "family", irrespective of their ethnic and cultural background.

The Apostle Paul considered hospitality as a primary responsibility of Christian believers; he knew the importance of receiving a warm welcome from believers during his missionary journeys (Philippians 4:15-19).  But his teaching here was not selfish: if the church was to grow up as the Body of Christ, it was essential to learn how to love sacrificially.  The principle of giving up part of your home to meet the needs of others is as fundamental as Jesus leaving heaven so that, through His death, sinners would be welcomed there.  Having received much grace from Him, the Christian has a spiritual and moral obligation to give to others (2 Corinthians 8:1-12).

A good test of the openness of our hearts to others is our willingness to open our homes.  Christian fellowship is integral in the family relationship of believers in Christ.  If we cannot open our homes, are our hearts cold or what are we hiding?  Are we trying to preserve what we have just for ourselves; or are we willing to share fellowship, food and finance?  

Opening our homes can be very costly, but it is a wonderfully effective way of opening our hearts to people with the love of Jesus.  If we see a need, let us meet it.  If we are not very good at hospitality, let us practise it.  That means that we keep on doing it until the habit of hospitality becomes a part of us.  As we do, we show that our love is sincere (Romans 12:9).