Outside, Looking In
Theme of the Week: Warm Welcome or Cool Reception?
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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Key Bible Verses: "For the Lord your God … ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing" (Deuteronomy 10:17-18). Bonus Reading: Ephesians 2:11-13, 19-22
One man in our church sits in a strategic location: virtually every person who walks into the sanctuary has to walk past him. He does this so that he can greet not just the regular attendees, but particularly visitors. He doesn't want them to feel like outsiders.
In the Old Testament much is made of welcoming aliens, those wandering without a home. The nation of Israel began as a nomadic people. They owned no land, so no matter where they went they were considered aliens. Once they came to the Promised Land, God didn't want them to forget what it felt like to be an outsider.
Jesus didn't forget. He touched lepers and the bleeding woman, when to touch either was prohibited by the religious establishment. Jesus reached out to the demoniac, the blind man, and the adulteress—all outsiders.
To walk into a room full of strangers is a daunting prospect for most people. So when you see someone who may be feeling like an outsider, go talk to him. Let him know that he's not an alien. Reach out to him like Jesus did. Don't forget what it's like to be an outsider.
—Joe Williams in Ohio
My Response: A time when I felt like an outsider was …
Thought to Apply: Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for he is going to say, "I came as a guest, and you received me." —Rule of St. Benedict
Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integritymagazine.
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