Ever walked into a church you don’t usually attend, where you don’t know anyone?
How did the people there make you feel? Did they welcome you, or did they treat you as if you were an outsider?
Now think about your own church, and how those in your church, including you, treat those who come to your church for the first time. If a person walks into your church smartly dressed and well-presented are they treat the same as when a drunk or homeless person comes in?
Imagine being treated like this
The congregation parted like the Red Sea
when that old drunk stumbled in down the aisle and took a seat
right in the middle of “Amazing Grace”
He could feel the judgment they were passin’
Thought to himself, “ain’t that just like a bunch of baptists”,
he’d rather be on the street than in this place
with tears on his face
I pray that I will never judge someone because of their outward looks, good or bad, but welcome every person into God’s house when they want to enter. We don’t know what others are going through, but God does. He brings people to His church when they are their lowest, in greatest need, so it’s our responsibility as Christians, to welcome them, just as Jesus would.
The song Somebody like me by The Martins, from which the above lyrics are an excerpt, is a great song, and a remind that someone like us needs to step up, and reach out to everyone who seeks shelter, or solace in God’s house.
The congregation parted like the Red Sea
when that old drunk stumbled in down the aisle and took a seat
right in the middle of “Amazing Grace”
He could feel the judgment they were passin’
Thought to himself, “ain’t that just like a bunch of baptists”,
he’d rather be on the street than in this place
with tears on his face
Chorus
You’d think somebody would put their arm around him
You’d think somebody would hit a knee
Pull him in, say a prayer, that’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout right there
You’d think somebody would practice what they’re preaching
Well I wonder who that somebody could be
Probably somebody like me
Well he’s got problems nobody wants a part of
When he got up and slipped, nobody stood up
They don’t wanna make a scene, they let him walk out of there
Ooh, without a prayer
Chorus
You’d think somebody would do something different
You’d think somebody would go against the grain
Be the one to run him down
Bring him back and turn him around
You’d think somebody would want to make a difference
Well I wonder who that somebody could be
Probably somebody like me
Oh, can I get a witness (somebody, somebody), Ooh, Ooh
