invite

Welcome

| Marie Griffith

I have a welcome mat on my front porch. Most of us do. We like to think we’re welcoming people.

But are we? Really?

I’m sometimes guilty of welcoming only those I feel comfortable welcoming. Or those that are most like me. I sometimes shy away from having those that are very different from me into my home.

I have to be intentional about inviting all kinds into my home. Into my conversation. Into my world.

Unfortunately,I get so comfortable in my space. In my home with my people. In the office with my co-workers. And within my circle of friends.

My comfort is not what God had in mind when he inspired Paul to write to the Romans: Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (15:7)

Welcome. Invite. Receive. Accept.

Joyfully.

The poor should invite the rich. And the rich the poor. The strong receive the weak and the weak the strong.

I should receive all kinds……..different races and backgrounds and educations and beliefs.

Jesus welcomed all. He asks us to do the same.

So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!
Romans 15:7 (MSG)

Eat Food

| Marie Griffith

It’s time for another Live Like it Matters Challenge.

I issue these challenges to inspire you and me (because I have to remind myself often) to make a positive difference in the lives of those around us, wherever we are. Some of the challenges are easier than others. Saying hello is easy. Laughing is easy. And part of this one is definitely easy because you already do this several times a day.

You already eat food. The challenge is to invite someone over to your home to eat food with you.

There is no need to throw an elaborate dinner party. I’m not asking you to entertain guests. The challenge is to offer hospitality and there is a distinct difference between the two. Entertaining is usually something we do to impress others. Hospitality is warm and inviting. It’s making those in your home feel comfortable and meeting their needs so they leave your home refreshed.

There’s just something about sharing a meal with someone in your home. When you have people in your home you get to know each other more intimately. The guards come down, the pretense falls away, the masks come off. It’s a really good thing.

So…..invite friends, a co-worker, your aunt and uncle, whoever you’d like into your home to share a meal or maybe a simple dessert and coffee. No fancy house needed. New furniture is not required. No need for special culinary training or fancy dinnerware. Dixie cups and paper plates will do just fine.

The only necessities are an invitation, some food, and a place to sit. And the best invitation is the face to face kind.

I searched for a profound quote about opening your home, and eating food with people. I wanted the quote to say something about how happy this act of hospitality would make you and them.

I couldn’t find one I liked so there is no quote. But there is this.

Just ask, make the plan, and eat food together.

Then let me hear about it.

Do you invite people into your home often? If not, why? What is your best or worst experience when sharing a meal with others?

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash