Today I was sitting here listening/singing to Casting Crowns. While I was listtening/singing to it, I started to think about the song "If we are the body" Here are the words to the song... "It's croweded in worship today As she slips in trying to fade into the faces The girls teasing laughter is carrying father than they know Farther than they know But if we are the body Why aren't His arms reaching? Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching? And if we are the body Why aren't His feet going? Why is His love not showing them there is a way? There is a way A traveler is far away from home He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row The weight of their judgemental glances Tells him that his chances are better out on the road Jesus paid much to high a price For us to pick and choose who should come And we are the body of Christ JESUS IS THE WAY! "My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favortisim. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you, but say to the poor man,"you stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughs? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love Him? But you have unsulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal lay found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favortisim, you SIN and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."- James 2:1-9 (NIV) I've noticed that some some church's can be this way. They don't take the time to get to know a person. They take one look at them. And go ugh we don't want them here. Or they hear rummors about them from their fellow church members and go oh we don't want them in "our church" Same goes for people outside of the church. They take one look at a person and go ugh I don't want anything to do with them. Or they hear rummors, or acusations about someone and they don't give them the time or day to explain themselves. Are you willing to go out of your comfort zone and go up to someone you wouldn't normally go up to and welcome them into your church? Are you willing to go out of your comfort zone and iggnore what other people say about that person and make your own mind up about them? If Jesus can come down here on earth and go into the towns where there were people who no one would talk to because they were "unclean" or so on. Couldn't we do the same? Why is it so hard for people to be nice to God's childern? Why do we always have to judge a person from the outside instead of looking at the person from the inside? My challenge for you is to... Go out of your comfort zone and welcome someone you wouldn't normally talk to. Don't worry what other people think! (I would worry what God thinks) You might be surprised at what you see! ;-)