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Recently, I attended a church that sang the old hymn \u201cAll Are Welcome.\u201d As I scanned the crowd, I thought how alike everyone looked\u2014and how there were still so many empty seats. Unsettled, I wondered how welcome a gay couple would be, or a woman scantily dressed covered in tattoos would feel. Or what about a dirty, smelly homeless man in tattered clothes\u2014would he feel welcome? So many, including myself, would hurry past without knowing what to say. I can understand more fully now why Jesus was often missing in action from the religious settings of His day and hung out instead with the outcasts and marginalized.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do we want our churches to look all shiny and clean only welcoming those most like us? Most of us would likely say no, but would our actions say otherwise? The people that Jesus loves and died for are\u2014like us\u2014messy and struggling. And, if they aren\u2019t welcomed in the church, where will they be? I am challenged by the way Jesus was always moved as He looked out into the crowds: \u201cHe had compassion on them, because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd\u201d (Matt. 9:36, NLT<\/a>).<\/p>\n How many confused and helpless<\/em> people are running into the arms of other places far from God simply because the people of God have not welcomed them?\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019ll never forget how my sister was treated in a Christian group while in college, and later in various churches. She didn\u2019t \u201cfit the mold.\u201d She dressed a little differently and was wrestling through some doubts. Instead of welcoming her with all her questions, she was rejected. That was the beginning of the door closing for her with the church. Instead, a non-Christian group opened their arms wide and gladly welcomed her.\u00a0<\/p>\n The real test of Gospel love comes when those whom society\u2014or the church\u2014deems unfit are welcomed and seen through the eyes of a Savior who values every person. Beneath every hard exterior is a living soul shaped for eternity. How will they know how much Christ loves them, unless they are first welcomed into our lives, our families, and our churches?\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s so easy to sing the words, \u201cAll Are Welcome\u201d in our comfortable churches. But what would it look like if that really happened? We need to continually remind ourselves that the Lord does not look at the things we look at, the outward appearance, He looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n The word welcome <\/em>comes from the Greek word dechomai<\/em> which means \u201cembrace,\u201d or \u201cto receive favorably.\u201d God embraced each one of us into a relationship with Himself \u201cwhile we were yet sinners\u201d (Rom. 5:<\/a>8). He looked past our sin, our outward appearances, stretched out His arms, and said: Welcome to my family and to the plan I have for you to have new life, to be set free, to live in a way that you could never imagine. Welcome just as you are!\u00a0<\/p>\n The unwelcoming life is really a heart issue. Until we look honestly at our own prejudices and\u00a0 judgmental spirits, we\u2019re never going to welcome people as Jesus has so beautifully modeled throughout the gospels. Instead, we\u2019ll continue pushing those Christ loves away and into the arms of others who will unconditionally welcome them.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019re all looking for a place to belong. Could it be that we\u2019re missing some of the greatest opportunities to love like Jesus by simply providing a place where all <\/em>are truly welcome? Romans 15:7<\/a> says, \u201cTherefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Welcoming those different from ourselves should be what sets us apart as Christians. The important questions are: How welcoming am I<\/em>? and Can I sing, <\/em>All Are Welcome and truly mean it<\/em>?\u00a0<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcd6 Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83d\udd0d Reflect:<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\n<\/ul>\n \ud83d\ude4f Pray:<\/strong><\/p>\n Lord, give me Your eyes to see people the way You do. Help me love without fear, welcome without hesitation, and extend the grace I\u2019ve received.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nFor Further Study<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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