Welcome, One And All

• How does your church make room for different people? How does it fail to do that?

• How can our family show hospitality to all members of our community?

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.
James 2:1

In this passage, James is talking to church members. He’s talking about how people tend to treat the rich differently than they treat the poor. It’s bad enough when that kind of discrimination goes on among unbelievers; but when it goes on in the church, it’s inexcusable.

God doesn’t discriminate against people based on how much they’re worth or how they’re dressed. And if he doesn’t discriminate, his people have absolutely no reason to do so.

Not all discrimination is obvious, though. Sometimes it’s not even intentional. Sometimes it’s just a matter of people staying in their comfort zones, hanging around the people they know or with whom they have things in common. They discriminate by not talking to new or “different” people.

But if discrimination is keeping people from feeling comfortable in a house of worship—a place where members claim to love and obey God—something is seriously wrong. We need to step out of our comfort zones and welcome people we don’t know—people who may be quite different from us.

Whether it’s in a kids’ Sunday school class or an adult Bible study, we need to represent our church in a way that pleases God and makes everyone feel welcome.

PRAYER
Dear God, give us welcoming hearts for all people. Help us create a church environment in which everyone feels welcomed and loved. Amen.