From the moment we are born, we’re told that we need to change the world. We need to make a difference. We need to do something really cool and significant for God and for others. We’re taught that we shouldn’t be ordinary. That’s some serious pressure!
Let me tell you something truly revolutionary and significant–start welcoming people the way Christ welcomed you. Welcome people that you wouldn’t ordinarily welcome. Welcome people who don’t dress like you or worship like you or think like you or look like you. Welcome people from different cultural backgrounds. Welcome people who you think are under-educated or overeducated. Welcome people who just don’t do church the way you think it should be done. Welcome people who you think are pretentious or stuck up or weak in their faith. Don’t wait around for them to welcome you. If Jesus would have treated us that way we’d all be in trouble.
You might say, “Oh, that’s too scary. I can’t do that. I can’t leave my kind of people.” But let me give you some advice: just try it. Sure, it’s scary. Do you think the Christian life is all about avoiding scary stuff? So you want to do something that will really change the world? Look at everyone in your church and say—that’s the one for whom Christ died. She’s the one for whom Christ died. He’s the one for whom Christ died. They are the ones for whom Christ died. Then treat them accordingly. They will never be the same. You will never be the same. And, friends, if we all do that, we will never be the same.
Pastor Rob Hall 