“The church sent them on their way. They passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, stopping to report to the groups of believers there that outsiders were now being converted. This brought great joy to them all.” Acts 15:3
I was struck by the beauty of this verse this morning.
The beauty of belonging.
Outsiders are coming into the family and the family is really happy about it!
That’s the way it should be. It should be a source of uncontainable joy when outsiders become a part of our party.
It makes me think of a conversation I had with my friend Mike this week. He told me about a quote that he heard…
Church should be like thanksgiving day.
Think about it…
There’s nothing like a big thanksgiving celebration.
FOOD…FAMILY…FUN!
The smells…the sounds…the stories.
There’s always that crazy uncle who will, inevitably, say or do something embarrassing.
Doesn’t matter, He still has a place at the table.
There are family members who end up napping in the corner.
There is a cousin who only eats pie.
There is life and laughter.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that Mike is onto something.
Church should feel, taste and smell like thanksgiving!
We should share food and drink.
Jesus threw parties where the food never ran out…I like that.
We should share stories.
We should laugh loud and love louder.
Church should smell like home.
There is freedom to be the weird Uncle or to take a nap or to eat a third piece of pie.
We should always be ready to add another leaf to the table.
Everybody has a place.
We ALL get to sit at the kid’s table.
We realize that is the funnest place to sit.
You don’t have to worry about appropriate.
You can burp and your cousins giggle.
You don’t have to worry about which fork to use.
You can turn your fancy napkin into a party hat.
Another crazy thing about thanksgiving…
It’s all about thanks!
There shouldn’t be any chest thumping or finger pointing.
Just hands open in gentle gratitude.
The posture of “whew!! WE made it! Pass the green bean casserole!”
We celebrate the beautiful, diverse belonging that we find at the table.
Our differences make us all the same.
Let’s serve up grace like gravy.
Let’s make a place for the outsiders and insiders…
The crazy uncles and hyperactive cousins…
We are family…
A big, crazy, messed up family.
Let’s party.
carbonated joy 