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By Kayla DeKraker
For Food Network personality Aarti Sequeira, inviting others into her home and serving them delicious food is how she lives out her faith.
“Jesus sat at tables that were radical. He broke bread with people who wouldn’t even make eye contact with each other today,” she said. “Being hospitable should flow out of the heart of a believer, because the heart of a believer is a generous heart.”
She emphasized that opening one’s home in generosity is a “foundational” biblical practice.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to look like much,” THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR winner continued. “When you look at the spine of our faith, Jesus did so many miracles, and the fact that one of them was to feed people, should inform us that that is important to Him, that there is a message that is communicated that goes deeper than just, ‘I’m going to feed your belly.’”
Related: Food Network Star Aarti Sequeira Reveals Moment She Met God
Sequeira believes that Christians’ heart of service sets them apart from others.
“As Christians, practicing hospitality sets us apart from other people, especially right now. I think everyone’s so lonely and so isolated,” the COOKS VS. CONS judge explained. “When we invite people over, it’s a defiant fist in the air, saying, ‘We’re not buying into this nonsense that we need to be isolated and sitting around bed rotting or doom scrolling. We’re built different.’ The Bible says you will know we are Christians by our love. One of the ways that you can show that love is by opening up your dinner table to people.”
For Sequeira, food goes deeper than serving; it’s a part of her own personal history.
“Food helped us connect with people who were far from home, but it also helped my parents say, ‘This is where you come from. Don’t forget it.’” She added, “It was never just fuel. It was identity.”
Sequeira now uses her gift of cooking not only to serve others but also to help others.
Recently, she partnered with Compassion International to put on a dinner to support children in need.
“Dinner for 450 of my friends who are united in the mission to help children living in poverty around the world, through the incredible work of @compassion,” she posted on Instagram. “So grateful for the invitation, for the best chef helping me execute (@chefjayz), for the kind reception as we explored what God means when He says, ‘TASTE and see that the Lord is good.’”
In Matthew 25:35, Jesus says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” This is a beautiful encouragement for us to do what Sequeira does: serve and minister to others through our hospitality.
Read Next: How Chef Aarti Sequeira Spreads Joy Through Cooking and Faith
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