Open Arms

When I was little, I would call my Grandma Nancy to see if I could spend the night.  She would say, “Well, let me see,” as she would pretend to be looking through a reservation book.  When she knew she had my attention she would say, “Yes…Yes, indeed, there is always room at Grandma’s Open Arms Hotel for you, Chad.” 

I would get off the phone and say, “She said, ‘Yes!’ Mom.”  My mom could not drive the three miles to their home fast enough for my satisfaction.  Once in their driveway, I would jump out of the car and run right into Grandma’s open arms.  There was something incredibly warm and loving about her embrace.  That woman had a way about her that made a little boy feel like he was the most special person in the universe.  I felt like I could do no wrong in her eyes.  And with her in my corner it seemed easier to believe that I was special to God and that he had a plan for my life. 

I would sit at the kitchen table in “my chair” (Grandpa and Grandma each had their own designated chair and mine was right in the middle.  Their kitchen was so small there was only room for three chairs).  As I sat in my chair, I would enjoy watching Grandma do one of her favorite hobbies—cooking!  Of course, eating what she cooked was one of my favorite hobbies.  As she cooked, I would listen to her do her second favorite hobby and that was tell stories.  She would tell stories about family, friends and faith.  Some made me laugh, a few made me cry and they all shaped me in one way or another.

My Grandparents home was small and unimpressive in a small and unimpressive neighborhood, but sometimes when I am back in my hometown, I will drive by their old home.  I stop for a minute by the curb in front of their Seibert Avenue house.  The home is not anything like it was.  Grandpa always kept the hedges perfectly manicured and the paint nice and bright.  But I see past what it is, to what it was—a place where I knew that no matter what and no matter when as long as Grandma and Grandpa were there I would always be received with open arms. 

My Grandma’s Open Arms Hotel comes to mind as I think about some words of Jesus from Matthew 25, “For I was a stranger and you invited me in.”  It is one thing to welcome, with open arms, someone we love, but to offer that same warmth and acceptance to a stranger…well, now that is truly what it means to be Christ-like.  After all, as Jesus mentioned, even pagans love their own.  How much more we who follow Him ought to love those who are strange to us.  For Jesus said by welcoming a stranger with open arms, we welcome Him.  Of course, the negative is true as well:  To not welcome a stranger with open arms is to not welcome Him.

I know there are many objections we might mention here:  What if the stranger takes advantage of us?  What about “stranger danger?”  What about being wise about who you trust?  Yes, those are all legitimate concerns, but Jesus suggests that he would rather us risk it all and err on the side of open arms.  Honestly, take it up with Jesus if you have a problem with welcoming strangers…I dare you, but I also promise you that you will find that the one who was willing to die for a stranger like me and you will not have his mind changed about this one.

Canton First Family, what might God do in hearts and minds, if this Sunday we come ready to receive Jesus by inviting strangers in with open arms during our NextGen celebration?  What if the introverts and extraverts among us went out of our way to make one NextGen family feel like they had just shown up at Grandma’s house this Sunday?  What might God be able to do in a life this Sunday for eternity, if we might step out of our comfort zones and say, “Would you like to sit with my family today?”  How might we shape a child’s life, if we cheered for each child as if he or she were our very own child or grandchild?  What if instead of rushing off to have lunch with “our own family,” we would ask our family to be inconvenienced for the sake of strangers in our midst?  What if we prayed the rest of this week that before a word is said or song is sung that every NextGen player and family would experience Jesus through our welcome?  There is no way to fake hospitality.  Either you got it or you don’t.  And this Sunday, the NextGen celebration will put us to the test.  I have no doubt that we are up for the challenge.

One thing is for sure…if we pass this test, then no matter what else does or does not happen Sunday, we will see Jesus in our midst because Matthew 25 says Jesus always shows up where strangers are welcomed with open arms.