Matthew 11:28 (NKJV) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
We like to take a walk every day. We enjoy the time outside in the fresh air and we enjoy the exercise. It’s part of what we do do to take care of our temple, the physical body that God has given us.
During our walks we get to see the beauty of God’s creation, hear the birds singing, see the sky, the clouds, the trees and so much more. We also get to spend time talking and sharing with each other, with no interruptions. We talk about a lot of different things.
But we also get to see stuff. We get to see people’s lives as we walk past their homes every day. We get to see some local businesses as they do their stuff. And we even get to see one small, local church that happens to be on one of the streets that we walk on frequently.
This church had a sign out front recently that said “All Are Welcome”. We walked by and as I read that sign, I thought to myself, “are all really welcome?”.
Are all people really welcome, no matter what they look like, no matter how they dress, no matter how many tattoos they have or whether they have piercings, dreadlocks, or any other kind of outward alterations to their appearance?
Or is it taboo to show up wearing clothes that are less than your “Sunday best”? Is it not acceptable to come in if you happen to be homeless and haven’t showered in weeks? Is it not OK to come in if you happen to have been out the night before, gotten drunk and still wreak of alcohol and you’ve come in because you realize that you need God and don’t know where else to turn?
Jesus said He came to give rest to the weak, the weary, the burdened and the tired. He told us that it is not the well who need a physician, but the sick.
Matthew 9:11-12 (NKJV) 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
So we ask you today, in your church or in your own heart, are “all” really welcome?
Think about it.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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