As Christmas approaches, let me encourage you to be like Jesus by taking the first step towards another person.

What do I mean by this? Let me explain…

We understand that God took a step towards us when he came down to us (from heaven) in the person of Jesus. We call that the “incarnation.” God became human and took a step toward us to show us that we are loved.

Later, Jesus told the women at the tomb on Easter morning  to “go and tell” the disciples he had risen. After that, Jesus to the disciples to “go” and be witnesses to the love of Jesus.

Yet, we hesitate to “go” to others and show that love. Even at church.

Why?

In my sermon last week, I talked about the fact that we in the United States live in a “service-based economy.” In other words, we are accustomed to people catering to our wants and needs. We expect people to take care of us. From wait staff, to salespeople, to the person who rings up our groceries.

We are so used to people catering to us, we are surprised that doesn’t automatically happen at church. Suddenly, the church is labeled unfriendly because someone wasn’t treated like royalty.

Don’t get me wrong, hospitality is important, and it is something we value in our core value of “welcome.” The issue is not just welcoming others, the issue is “one sided hospitality.”

When an individual expects other people to do all the work but does not extend the same courtesy, it all falls apart.

We all should take a step toward each other. We all should take the time to greet and welcome people we don’t know. We have all the opportunity and choice to be like Jesus this Christmas and take a step towards others.

Oh and smile!

Merry Christmas and God bless you,

Pastor Ben