When doing
up a dress shirt, if you do not get the first button in the right
place, every
other button will be wrong.
I
think
the church has missed the first button.
As
groups
and individuals, we do a lot of good. We
have good intentions. We
love God and we
want to make disciples, but most of us are not seeing a lot of
fruit. What are we
missing?
Hospitality.
When
you read that word, you probably think about having someone over for
supper. That could be part
of it, but Biblical hospitality
starts with something much simpler.
It
starts with an attitude.
“I
have
made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To
the Jews I
became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I
became like one
under the law… so as to win those under the law. To those not
having the law I
became like one not having the law… so as to win those not having
the law. To
the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things
to all people
so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians
9:19-23).
Do
you
hear what Paul is saying? He
will do anything
in order to build a bridge to others so that he can teach the
gospel. He will be
interested in whatever they are interested
in. He will go where they
go. He will do what they
do. He will not compromise
his faith, but he will
put his personal preferences to the side and ask, “Can I join
you?”
That
is
the exact opposite of what I was taught!
I was told to run away from people.
I was told that I should not have any non-Christian
friends. We formed a
church softball team so that none
of us had to meet any one we did not know.
We insulated
ourselves, hid in
the church building and then wondered why we were not having much
impact on the
community.
“The
word became flesh and dwelt among us!” (John 1:14). If Jesus’
example teaches us anything it is that we ought to be running
towards people,
not away from them. We
ought to be
welcoming, instead of shunning. We
ought
to be going, instead of waiting.
A
hospitable,
welcoming heart that makes room for others is the first button.
If
we
get that wrong, nothing else will line up.
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