With the holidays about ready to wrap up for another year, many of us have attended parties, family gatherings and social events. In most cases, I'd assume that you were invited to be a part of whatever the occasion was. If you went over to a friend or family members house to celebrate Christmas, you had to find out about it somehow. Unless you have some strange holiday traditions, you likely didn't randomly stop at a stranger's house down the street and knock on their door. Whether you received a phone call or an invitation in the mail, you were asked to be a part of the festivities – you were invited.
What if I told you that everyone who read this blog was welcome to come to our home tonight to celebrate New Years eve? Even if you're a professional stalker and found your way to our house and knocked on the door, I'd need to take the necessary action to allow you entry, inviting you in. In other words, telling you that you're "welcome" here just simply isn't enough. Many times, we tell others something like this, "You're welcome to come over any time! We'd love to have you!" – all the while we're dreading even the thought of them actually being in our home. Maybe they have unruly children, bad character traits or they simply cramp our style. It's some sort of false courtesy I guess, to tell someone we'd like them to spend time with us, even if we have no intention of ever truly inviting them.
I believe that the same is true with how we interact with God. We may casually say "Lord, you're welcome here.", but our hearts never really go beyond that and invite Him into the house. We say "stop by sometime" but never send out that intent invitation to be a part of our everything via prayer. Perhaps, like that acquaintance, the "welcome" sign on our door is really just a façade that makes us look good on the outside, but inside we're just not ready to give God total access to our "house". After all, He may come in and mess up everything that we've got going for us!
So as 2006 comes to a close, I encourage you as I encourage myself. Let's throw wide open our doors to the Lord and invite Him in. Let's allow Him to be, not just a part, but the orchestrator of our entire lives in 2007. No longer can we say, "God you're welcome here", but continue to keep the doors locked when He attempts to come in.
Happy New Year!
1 comment:
You may or may not have done this on purpose, put the picture for this blog looked like a fish sign to me. An early church symbol telling one was a Christian in the home or meeting place. It signaled to others faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was an invitation symbol. May the way I live be a signal as well to all that Jesus Christ is acknowledged in every aspect of my life.
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