"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." - Matthew 9:12-13
These were the words of the Lord Jesus when He saw the critical attitude of religious people toward those who didn’t fit in with their idea of what a nice, respectable religious person should look like.
Our communities are full of people who don’t go to church because they are afraid they won’t fit in. They don’t own the right clothes, they don’t know when they are supposed to stand or sit down, or they just haven’t been to church in such a long time (many times never!) that they feel really awkward hanging out with “church people.”
I’ve been giving out flyers to adults with an invitation to bring their children or grandchildren to Vacation Bible School this week. I hear the most un-churchy looking people say, wistfully, “I used to love going to Vacation Bible School!”
Welcome people when they come to your church. Introduce yourself, ask them their name. Ask how they are. You are the face of Jesus for that moment. You have no idea how hard it is for people who don’t do church to come in the door of your church.
Lord Jesus, give me a heart of genuine interest in people; genuine concern for their life; genuine love for souls. Give me a heart that looks beyond what I think they should be to see them as You see them. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles
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