God Welcomes Everyone -- Do You?
"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited."
-- Romans 12:16
The "Christian" woman was sincere as she explained why she would never invite her neighbors to her church. "They wouldn't fit in," she said. The assumption was that she was doing them a favor. She wouldn't want them to feel awkward or out of place. The truth? She was afraid they would embarrass her.
The couple are not christians. They briefly attended another church but stopped. I suspect the preacher of that church pressured them to make a decision they weren't ready to make. Still, they were seeking, asking questions, becoming aware of the void.
They are good people. Kind and generous. Quick to laugh. They are also poor. Their clothes, while clean, have the distinction of being old and worn. You would never call them fashionable. They have spent most of their lives working. They are not well educated. She, at least, has a high school diploma. He quit school to go to work, a choice necessary for survival.
Would they be welcomed at your church? Would you look past the shabbiness of their clothes and see the gentleness of their souls? Or would you hang back, speaking but never really embracing them?
The uncomfortable truth is that we do pick and choose who is worthy of God's grace. We do judge others and reject them as being unworthy of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. We want to surround ourselves with people like us -- the same color, the same economic status, the same family units.
Who are we to make such a call? Who are we to look down on any of God's children, to feel ourselves superior, when just the opposite is true. No one is worthy and yet we are all welcome. All of us. God doesn't look at the things of this world. He looks at the heart. What does your heart reveal?
No comments:
Post a Comment