Inviting-Not!

A portion of the road to Wiang Kaen follows the Mekong River.  Perched on a hill on a bend in the river is a stupa and Buddhist shrine.

Interestingly, there is no name of this place posted along the road. There is a staircase from main road up to the stupa (though it does not get used much because it is also possible to drive up).  On either side of the stair case are these interesting statues.  One is a man holding a scythe, the other is a man wielding a club.





 

I'm not sure how the locals interpret these statues.  But what I DON'T read is "Welcome, come on up," or "We're glad you're here."  It looks more like they are saying, "we dare you to come up."  In my eyes, this is anything but welcoming.

What a contrast to how we see God depicted in the Bible.  We have an invitational God.  In the Old Testament, we see God was welcoming the alien and stranger.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.  Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:18, 18 ESV)

The temple was to be a  place where everyone was invited to come pray.

these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. (Isaiah 56:7 NIV) 

Jesus welcomed all people.  He invites people to follow him. He invites the weary to come find rest. He invites even children into his presence.

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23 ESV)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matthew 19:14 ESV)

God is a welcoming God.

But what about us?  Are we as inviting as Jesus was?

I have not seen any strange statues outside our church buildings that would deter people from entering.  But sometimes the buildings themselves can be quite intimidating.  In an historically non-Christian culture like we find in Thailand, very few people would dare go into a church building unless they are already believers or they are pretty much ready to receive Christ.

We believers can be a bit intimidating as well.  Sometimes our speech or behavior can be less than inviting.

I pray that my life would not be like these statues below the stupa, but that it would bear testimony to our God who welcomes all who come to Him.

Welcome to Canada

We had just arrived at Vancouver International Airport and Ingrid's sister was driving us to their place in Langley. As we were driving we passed a field where they were picking blueberries.

Now we haven't had fresh blueberries in 3 years and we really like them, so Lore was more than happy to turn around and inquire about buying blueberries.

 

The people picking the blueberries appeared to be Indo-Canadians and the ones we first tried to speak to hardly spoke any English.  We did find that they were not selling the blueberries there, but one of the pickers loaded our hands with some fresh berries.  They then pointed to a fellow back down the row of bushes a bit who did speak some English.

We chatted with this fellow a bit and then enjoyed the fresh berries.  While we were still back in Thailand we had talked about things we were looking forward to in Canada.  Ingrid was looking forward to being with her family.  As for me, I was thinking, "I think we will get in on the end of blueberry season."

This gift of blueberries was a nice welcome to Canada, given to us by those who have been welcomed to Canada themselves.

As Christians, we are to ones that welcome "aliens".  I think about all of those verses in the Bible that walk about welcoming the sojourners that come to our lands:

 

You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 22:21 ESV)

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.  (Leviticus 19:34 ESV)

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.  (Deuteronomy 10:17, 18)

Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.  (Jeremiah 22:3 ESV)

do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart. (Zechariah 7:10 ESV)

Most of all, we thank God that he welcomes sojourners like ourselves into the kingdom of God.