It’s that time of the year again, when many of us are preparing for the traditional Lunar New Year reunion with our families. Whether we’re hosting the gathering, bringing a dish to a pot luck, or simply attending it, we may feel enthusiastic or reluctant, depending on the dynamics of the relationship in our families.

After the lockdowns and restrictions of COVID-19, however, I do not take such gatherings for granted anymore. I feel grateful that extended families can meet freely and relatives can see one another again, though I can’t help wondering: What about those who do not have families in Singapore? Do they feel left out of the festivities? How do they feel, seeing other families reunite while they themselves have no one to celebrate the occasion with?

Recently, I read a news article about young people in China discovering the joys of travelling within their own country and discovering genuine hospitality, especially in small towns and villages. What was amazing was reading about how the locals in these places would hang out with the young people, bringing them around and showing them their way of life and culture.

The article prompted me to ask myself: Have the last few years isolated me so much that I have forgotten what it means to be hospitable? Or, have I practised being hospitable when it is not required of me—like extending an invitation to a friend or a foreigner to join me in the festivities with my own family?

Sadly, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve done so. It was not for the lack of knowing whom to invite, but simply because the idea had not come to mind.

Perhaps many of us are too caught up in our own lives today—with our spouses, our children, our family duties and responsibilities—to think of people outside our immediate or extended families and friends. But . . . is this something we can consider?

I am reminded of the example of Boaz who, in the midst of his work, stopped to ask his workers who the unfamiliar-looking woman in his field was. He then extended hospitality to her and advised her on how to glean the leftover grain as well as where to get water (Ruth 2).

Of course, it is not easy for some of us to be hospitable. We may not be able to think of someone we can invite to our Lunar New Year reunion, or we may worry about how our invitation would be perceived. Would they even come?

With these challenges in mind, perhaps we can consider these approaches:

1. Pray: Ask God to help you think of someone you can invite, or pray for the person you wish to reach out to. Pray for his or her heart to be softened to your invitation, and trust in the Holy Spirit to bring that person around—according to God’s timing. Even if it doesn’t happen this Lunar New Year period, there will be other opportunities throughout the year.

2. Plan: Involve your family and loved ones in your plans to show hospitality to the person you have in mind. Not only will it give them a chance to give you more ideas on how you can go about it, it will also allow them to pray together with you, and support you in this effort.

3. Plant: Allow ample time to speak to the person and plant the seed of invitation, so that it can be nurtured by God in His good time. Don’t rush or pressure the person for an answer, but trust in God’s plans for this person. As Paul reminds us, “Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7).

May we not miss opportunities to be a blessing to others as God has blessed us. Ruth was blessed by Boaz’s actions, and Naomi, her mother-in-law, was blessed in turn (Ruth 2:17–19); hospitality begets hospitality. God has given us the privilege to partner Him in His mission to reach the lost. This festive period, can we consider opening our homes to others, and be a channel of God’s love?

Dear Father, let me know whom I can show Your love to today. Open my heart that I may reach out, speak through me that I may know the words to say, help me to be compassionate in extending Your grace, and show me how I can be a blessing not only to those I know, but also to those whom You will lead me to. Thank You, Father, for the blessings I have through Your son Jesus Christ.