Open Heart Open Door

Building One Another - Vol. 10, No. 28
Dear Friend, December is often a time of more social gatherings in the life of the church and in our worlds of work, local neighborhoods, friends, and families. Our normal tendency is to gravitate to those we know and to include those with whom we are familiar. Indeed much of the joy of the season is gathering with those we know and love. At the same time, this is an ideal time to open our circles a little. Thus we enjoy the dear one and include the new one.  The open heart leads to the open door. As a matter of fact, this is often the practical key to including people who are newer to us because that very newness may make us a little uncomfortable in reaching out to them. Invite those we don’t know so well to join us with those we do know well. Remember the two friends on the road to Emmaus? “But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them.” Luke 24:29* They had no idea it was Jesus, the sovereign Lord of the universe.  Secure in their relationship, the two friends who knew each other well invited the one they didn’t know so well. It only changed their lives.
With joy - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2011 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
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