Welcome. Hi. How you doing?

Welcome... How are you doing... See you later. That can sometimes sum up our effort of a welcome to another. Is that the way God intended it to be? Actually, that is somewhat opposite of what God intended. Romans 15:7, commands us as followers of Christ "to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." Paul does not say, “say hi to one another.” The Greek word translated “welcome” is much heavier than just a greeting or a head nod. Welcome means “take another to yourself and treat them as a friend with loving kindness."

What does biblical welcoming look like? It is rich in mercy and lavish in grace toward others as Christ has been for us. Welcoming others withholds condemnation in the same way Christ’s welcoming of us was absent of condemnation. Welcoming others means being open-handed and generous with our time, energy and resources as Christ has generously given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Welcoming others is patient and resilient when we let each other down or discover that we have differences. Our welcoming of others is to be a picture of how Christ has welcomed us.