The gospel of welcome

OIP-30

And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:17)

The gospel of welcome. What does it mean? It means the good news is good news for everybody. It’s a blanket, all-inclusive invitation. There isn’t anyone to whom it doesn’t apply. You don’t have to qualify for the gospel. You don’t have to get cleaned up first. There isn’t a particular sin that will make someone shut the door on you. If you’ve been rejected elsewhere, you won’t be rejected here.

The gospel of welcome means the door is wide open. Jesus told a parable about the Pharisees who stand at the gates of heaven with the keys to the kingdom that they use to keep people out. There are none of those guys around here. Our door is wide open, there are no keys, and no questions asked. There is no one who doesn’t want you here. Everyone here got in by grace so who are we to keep anyone out? If anyone casts doubt on anyone else, then they must of necessity question whether they belong here, and who wants to do that? God forbid someone made a mistake! That’s what grace feels like — they must have made a mistake.

Someone left the door open. Feel the breeze.

The gospel of welcome means you belong here. The door is open to you. You are expected. It might seem like you came in random off the street, but Jesus has been waiting for you like the Father waited for the son in the story of the prodigal. And He’s throwing you a party — a welcome home party. You are a son, a daughter, you belong here. This is your family. Welcome home.

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5 Responses to The gospel of welcome

  1. Toni Petrella says:

    I hope millions will finally realize that Jesus wants all of us and it has been like that from the beginning. Thru faith we can all be with him in the Kingdom of God no matter our past, what we look like or anything else. I have been always grateful to the welcome from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

  2. Pingback: Practicing The Gospel of Welcome | Faith Venture

  3. Elizabeth says:

    I recently saw the play “Shout, Sister, Shout” about Sister Rosetta Tharpe who sang and played guitar gospel in a style that earned her the title Godmother of Rock n Roll. In one scene she looks out at the audience with stage fright and says “God loves you and God loves me and there ain’t a thing we can do about it.” I don’t know if Sister Rosetta said that first, or if the playwright did, but that’s the best description of Grace I have heard and I just had to share it.

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