Keep the Light On: Radical Hospitality and Welcome

``This is the love that Jesus calls us toward. It's not impressive. It's not triumphant, but it's faithful. A love that makes room. A love that listens. A love that knows the kingdom of God's mouth, not in who we exclude or protect against, but in how fully we welcome people in and are willing to be welcomed in return. [00:59:38] (28 seconds)  #faithfulWelcomingLove

So the question before us is not how we protect God's love, but how we practice it. Will we keep the light on? Will we open the door? Will we be ourselves? We allow to give generously and then receive generously and graciously, and all the while trusting that God's kingdom is not something we have to build or defend, but something we witness through love. [01:00:49] (30 seconds)  #practiceGodsLove

Christ like love requires both generous getting and receiving. To expound on that statement just a little bit, Christ like love is often described in terms of what we give. Generosity, sacrifice, service, welcome. And by itself, Jesus calls us beyond easy love. Beyond loving those who we already love and love us, and to love that reaches outward even toward those who may not return. This kind of love costs something. [00:56:47] (38 seconds)  #giveAndReceiveLove

Lord, it has been a a difficult and confusing week for a lot of people in our country. And so, God, we pause and we look to you. We we look to you when there seems to be no logical explanation. We look to you when it seems like hope becomes darker and darker, or we we look to you when it becomes more and more difficult to be amazed at the world around us. [00:39:25] (34 seconds)  #lookToGod

So, God, even in these times of uncertainty, Lord, I pray that you that you give us the ability to simply look to you, to to look to you for guidance and how our faith should interact with the world or the the world around us, how we can be a force for good and for love in a world that can be filled with hate. [00:40:00] (31 seconds)  #loveAsForceForGood

God's love, Jesus says, rises like the sun on both the just and the unjust. It does not belong to a nation or a culture or chosen group, and it doesn't require the right language or the right beliefs or the right background before it's offered. [00:54:13] (18 seconds)  #loveForEveryone

Christ like love then looks like an open door and open heart. It gives without demanding repayment, and it receives without fear and without loss. It trusts that God is already at work on both sides of the threshold. [00:59:20] (18 seconds)  #openDoorOpenHeart

Now Christ like love does not ask who deserves God's blessing or who belongs first. It trusts that God's love is already wider than our borders. It's deeper than our fears, and it's freer than our loyalties. [01:00:24] (15 seconds)  #loveBeyondBorders