The Outsiders | Like Christ Welcomes Us

May the God of endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude toward each other, similar to Christ Jesus' attitude. That way you can glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ together with one voice.

So welcome each other, in the same way that Christ also welcomed you, for God's glory. 

Romans 15:5-7(Common English Bible)

Paul's instruction here sounds simple: welcome each other the same way Christ welcomed you. But when you really think about how Christ welcomed us, it becomes radical.

Christ didn't wait for us to get our lives together before welcoming us. Christ didn't require us to have perfect theology before inviting us in. Christ didn't demand that we prove ourselves worthy before offering us grace. Christ welcomed us while we were still sinners, still struggling, still figuring things out.

And Paul says that's exactly how we're supposed to welcome each other.

But we don't do this naturally. Our instinct is to welcome people who are like us – people who share our values, our background, our beliefs, our lifestyle. We're comfortable welcoming people who won't challenge us or make us uncomfortable. We're happy to invite in people who already fit.

That's not radical welcome. That's just hospitality to people who are already insiders.

Radical welcome means welcoming people the way Christ welcomed the magi. It means inviting in people who practice a different religion. It means making space for people whose backgrounds are complicated. It means embracing people whose beliefs don't perfectly align with ours. It means sitting at tables with people who make us uncomfortable.

This is hard. It costs us something. When we practice radical welcome, we might face judgment from other Christians who think we're compromising. We might have to answer difficult questions from people in our lives who don't understand why we're associating with "those people." We might have to examine our own prejudices and biases.

But this is what following Jesus requires. Jesus didn't just talk about welcoming outsiders from a safe distance. Jesus actually ate with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus touched lepers. Jesus talked with Samaritans. Jesus welcomed people that the religious establishment said didn't belong. And he calls us to do the same.

So what does this look like practically? It might mean sitting next to someone in church that everyone else is avoiding. It might mean inviting someone to your home who your neighbors might judge you for welcoming. It might mean standing up for people who are being pushed to the margins, even when it costs you something. It might mean choosing relationships with people who don't look like you, worship like you, or vote like you.

Radical welcome isn't just a nice idea we talk about. It's a practice we actually live out. It's the difference between agreeing that there are no outsiders in God's kingdom and actually welcoming the outsiders in our own lives.

Paul reminds us that when we welcome each other the way Christ welcomed us, we glorify God together with one voice. Not separate voices for insiders and outsiders. Not different voices for people who are like us and people who aren't. One voice. Together. That's the vision. The question is whether we're willing to actually live it out.

Prayer:

God, you welcomed us before we had it all figured out. You invited us in before we proved ourselves worthy. You extended grace to us when we were still outsiders. Help us welcome others the same way. Give us courage to invite in the people we'd rather avoid. Give us humility to learn from the people we've dismissed. And help us create communities where everyone knows they belong. Amen.