Welcoming Hearts

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Ray and I recently saw people we knew in a public place. Empty seats were scattered among them, so I asked if we could join them. One person said that others were coming. Another said that maybe they could add some more seats. Boy, was I embarrassed! I quickly said that we would sit nearby.

The incident was minor for us, but what if it had happened to someone who had just lost a spouse or someone who struggled with depression or someone who had just moved to the area and had been excited to see familiar faces? No one was unkind or meant to be unkind. Still, as we sat in our nearby seats and when I sat down to write to you, lessons began to dawn on me:

  • “Oh, Charlene. Invite others to join you, but never invite yourself!”
  • “Don’t put people in such an awkward situation. Think how uncomfortable they must have felt.”

On the other hand:

  • “Charlene, don’t plan gatherings where you will feel uncomfortable inviting others to join you.”
  • “Never make anyone else feel even slightly unwelcome.”

With mortification, I wondered if I make people feel unwelcome. I thought about Jesus and how He always welcomed everyone.

The apostle Peter was surprised when God sent him to teach the gospel to Cornelius who was a Gentile. Finally Peter realized that the gospel was not only for Jews but for Gentiles, too.

Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now
that God is not one to show partiality,
but in every nation the man who fears Him
and does what is right is welcome to Him.
Acts 10:34-35

The human heart longs to hear others say “Welcome!” by word, by deed, and by body language. “Welcome!” says, “Come in. I want you to be part of my life. I want to share myself and what I have with you.”

We’ve been hanging this wooden plaque inside or outside our home since 1985 after our friends Martin and Lillie Fay gave it to us. The challenge for us all is to make sure our hearts, as well as our homes, say, “Welcome.”

Jesus knew the feeling of being unwelcome. After people from His hometown treated Him badly, He said:

Truly I say to you,
no prophet is welcome in his hometown.
Luke 4:24

Jesus also knew how it felt to be welcome.

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village;
and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
Luke 10:38

The book of James has one of God’s sweetest promises:

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:8

The invitation to be near our Father and the promise of His being near us is precious. He wants us to be like Him.

  • He wants children and parents of all ages to draw near to one another.
  • He wants husbands and wives to draw near to one another.
  • He wants Christians to draw near to one another.
  • He wants believers to invite non-believers to come inside the sweet fellowship of God and His church.
  • He wants us to invite others to draw near to us and He wants us to draw near to them.

Advertisers often appeal to the human temptation to feel superior to others because we are in some exclusive group. I praise God that He is not exclusive. I want to cultivate a heart, a tongue, a face, and a life that say, “Welcome!” “Welcome!” is what Jesus says to us:

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;
if it were not so, I would have told you;
for I go to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to Myself,
that where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:2-3

 

 

 

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One comment

  1. I always try to sit in the middle of the pew at church. That way someone can sit on either side if they like. Currently there is a lady that always sits with me when she comes alone. When I happen to go to the Saturday night service, and she comes on Sunday, my 14 yo son will sit with her.

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