Friday Devotional:

Psalm 15



A friend of mine once proclaimed the seriousness of his congregation's invitation for others to join them-that their message read something like, "Visitors expected." I'm inspired and challenged by that.

This kind of welcome may also serve to magnify how much work we as congregations and disciples have yet to do in terms of hospitality. The psalmist's question invites us to pause and consider whether others are welcome among us in God's "tent," and how we might intentionally make it so.

God's gracious welcome makes room and space for people we do not know and whose stories are different from ours. We enter mutual story-sharing with interest and openness, trusting that God is present in the other. When our welcome is both genuine and intentional, we are often surprised and delighted by what we learn. We often find resonance between another's story and ours. Through others we learn who we are in relation to God and the wider world. We are forever changed, and this is good news!

Open us to a broader story of your love, Lord that we may recognize you in one another. Amen.

An excerpt from Christ in Our Home

If you would like a copy of Christ in Our Home please contact the church office: 805-983-0612