And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Matthew 5:47
I’ve had many good experiences with people treating me very graciously when visiting their church, even though they know I’m passing through— I won’t be returning there regularly (see below). But one of the downers of church visiting is when people who greet you drop you cold when they discover that you aren’t a perspective new congregant. It’s one of the hazards of church visiting when traveling. But it always makes me feel like I’ve let some people down.
When we look at each unfamiliar face as little more than a potential new member, it can be pretty discouraging to find they don’t live in the area. In one church we visited, more than one person literally asked us if we would move across the continent so we could go to their church. This seemed odd until we found out that there were many families in that church who had done just that. I had never stopped to consider just how desperate some people are for a better church experience.
But to the point, do we value people who come into our midst whether they’re local or just passing through? Or do we even bother to greet people who aren’t our “own people”. It would be easy to assume that God doesn’t have much to say on the subject, but over and over again in the Old and New Testaments, God tells His people to honor strangers in their midst. (e.g. Deut 10:19, Lev 19:34).
And then, Hebrews puts this twist on it, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it” (13:2). Obviously, we’re not angels. But do you know I’ve been handed official visitor bags with some pretty neat stuff (worship CD’s, mementoes, books, etc.)? Gift certificates for free stuff at their foyer store or coffee shop…
All of that was on a ‘church-level’. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned by visiting churches, no official visitor ministry set up by the church can match the individual, ad-hoc kindnesses that congregants do on their own.
On that person-to-person level, I’ve had people invite my family to meals even though we visit with no object in moving to the area. As visitors, we’ve experienced people handing us money—significant sums of money—to honor us on our way; or giving us food… This seems pretty extreme to me, but I’m mentioning it to give glory to God and acknowledgment to people who are better at honoring strangers in their midst than I am.
It’s almost like these people—these churches—have learned that if you bless God’s kids, He blesses you back… That if you “Cast your bread upon the waters: you shall find it after many days” (Ecc 11:1). Blessing others is their life-style and they receive as they bless.
More on this next time…