Hi everyone,
So yesterday our daughter had a playdate with this new-ish friend of hers. This kid is more a friend of a friend, but I guess our daughter and she crossed paths enough that they became closer. Anyway, this kid had invited our daughter over, and I volunteered to take her.
Now, I should say that I don’t know this kid’s parents from a hole in the wall. I have never officially met them, nor did I even know their names. I thought that maybe I’ve seen them before at an unrelated event that involved both of our kids, so I had an image in my mind of what to expect.
And let me tell you, they were 100% not who I thought they were. Which is a good thing, because they were probably the kindest folk that I’ve ever met. They have a beautiful home and they even invited me in. Unfortunately I still had a sermon to complete so i couldn’t take them up on their offer, but their warmth, their caring nature, and their welcome did not go unnoticed.
I didn’t ask them if they were church-goers, but they sure acted like they were. At least, how we’d like church-goers to act…
Here are the readings for next week:
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23
Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
We’d like church-goers to be warm, caring, and welcoming, because that is how Jesus is. That is what we’re called to be like. That is essentially how we are raised.
I know, we can’t always be like that. Especially in a world when it can be so hard to trust others. But the important thing is that we can learn to see others as we hope to be seen, regard others as we are regarded, love people as we are empowered by God.
This isn’t an easy task, I know, like I said sometimes people aren’t exactly lovable (myself included at times… rare, but it happens). But by God’s grace we can see how we are more similar than different, in that while we still are very different, we are also equal in how forgiven, saved, and welcomed we are by the goodness and righteousness of God, our ultimate shepherd.
Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash