With arms wide open!
Who doesn’t love to receive “arms wide open” greetings from family and friends? The greeting that says, “I couldn’t be happier to see you!” The action that reminds us how much we’re loved and appreciated?
Who isn’t delighted when it’s apparent that someone went out of their way to make you feel at home? Who doesn’t appreciate someone taking time during their day to sit down and talk with you—asking questions and listening in a way that tells you they’re genuinely interested in you?
Who doesn’t appreciate a warm smile from a passerby on the street? Who doesn’t love to be served at a restaurant? Who doesn’t appreciate a helping hand when a big task waits to be done?
Most of us appreciate all of these things because they are thoughtful, caring actions, done in love. These actions fill our lives with happiness, delight, smiles. They make life better.
But think what an added dimension of happiness and delight would be ours if “arms wide open” greetings were given by a brother or sister in Christ in response to Christ’s call? Those little things, done with great love in response to Christ’s commandment to share his love, can transform us. They can draw us closer to Christ and to brother and sister. They can inspire us to selflessly share the love of Christ with others. They can bring about change to God’s world.
Lots of times I think we convince ourselves that answering Christ’s call to share his love with others is a daunting task—that doing so would require a Herculean effort of some sort on our part. It doesn’t, though. As we recently learned in worship, sharing God’s love is as simple as offering a cup of water to someone else in Christ’s name. Sharing God’s love is as simple as giving flowers to someone who’s going through a tough time in their lives. It’s as simple as offering to drive someone to their doctor’s appointment or going grocery shopping for someone’s who’s laid up.
Opening our arms wide does, however, mean that we’ve allowed God to transform our thinking about priorities for loving in life. It means that we think of him first, others second, and ourselves third—not because we think so little of ourselves, but we think so highly of God.
Such change in priorities should not only be evident in our individual lives, but in our life together as well. In the church, ministry should be shaped by our passion for God and our love for brothers and sisters. Welcoming them, sharing with them, serving them, opening our arms to them then becomes our main goal. Ministry then becomes this pursuit of loving God and doing things in such a way that both honors him and makes others feel at home. Ministry is about worshiping and serving God, and faithfully paving the way for others to feel at home, comfortable, with God. Ministry becomes less about what we can get out of worship or service, but what can we give to honor God and neighbor—what can we do to help others grow closer to God.
Living this way is a bit tuopsy-turvy, given the ways of our world, but it sure is faithful. Living this way leaves us a bit vulnerable in the eyes of the world, but it sure is the way God hpes we'll live.