Nov
21
2019
There Is Always A Chair For You
Posted in Evangelism 2 Comments
Every other Wednesday, I teach a Bible study in my home.
The women are so sweet.
Some of us have been together in Bible study for years.
The women really enjoy each other’s company.
The first twenty or thirty minutes is a time for the women to talk.
I usually bake something that morning.
Coffee and hot water for tea is on the counter.
This time of year, mulled cider is simmering on the stove.
Since there are usually about twenty-five women, I ring a bell when it’s time to get started.
Grandma’s triangle bell, that my granddaughter loves so much, is what calls us together.
Some women sit at the farm table in the kitchen; some women sit at the island.
The rest of the women sit on folding chairs in the family room.
The folding chairs are tucked behind the swinging door in my dining room.
I have the chairs set up for the women when they get here.
They return the chairs to the dining room when Bible study is over.
I used to put them away in the summer months, but decided that it is easier to leave them.
One of the women who comes to Bible study is a real estate agent.
She said something to me when she left my house after our last Bible study.
I always love coming here, but some Wednesdays I have to work.
There is always a chair for you, I reminded her.
I thought about my words to her for the rest of that day.
I thought about my words to her during the next day as well.
There is always a chair for you.
Oh, that those words were always true in our world today.
What if we had that attitude in our every day life?
There is always a chair for you at our table.
There is always a chair for you so we can sit and talk.
There is always a chair for you in our church.
How often is the opposite true?
Whether intentional or not, there is not always a chair.
Sometimes, there is someone who feels as if they are on the outside looking in.
Sometimes, there are just too many hoops that someone is required to jump through.
It should always be, there is always a chair for you.
There should always be room.
There should always be space.
There should always be time.
Have we forgotten hospitality?
Not everyone fits the mold of what is expected.
Is there still a chair for them?
Is there still room?
An attitude of openness is so important.
What if my response had been different to the women who comes to Bible study?
You have to come to Bible study every time we meet.
We miss her when she is not here, but welcoming her when she IS here is more important.
There is always a chair for you leaves the door open.
There is always a chair for you tells the person that they matter.
There is always a chair for you shows them that they are more important than the agenda.
There is always a chair for you means that there is always room.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1-6)
There is always a place in the Father’s house.
There is always a chair.
There is nothing we have to do in order to have a place.
Jesus has done it all.
Why would we do any less?
Why would we make it difficult for someone to belong?
There is always a chair for you.
Always. No exceptions.
We need to concentrate our thoughts and actions on making a chair for new people in our lives as well as the old friends–it feels so good as a Christian to reach out with God’s love.
Amen, Sue!