https://odb.org/2024/08/12/welcome-mat
There are three concepts in Jesus’s teaching in Mark 9:30-37. The first is that Jesus needed to die first before He rises again. At that point, the disciples of Jesus didn’t understand what He was talking about. The second is that the least is the greatest, and it speaks of servant leadership in the Kingdom of God. This essentially means that in God’s Kingdom, it is about serving and not authority or power. That also means that in the church, it is not about attending but more to respond to the various needs in the church, to help out in the various ministries like ushering, visitation, follow up, prayer, music, hospitality, evangelism and many others.
The third is the most tricky, and that is to welcome others. The thing is that when we welcome people into the church, we tend to naturally focus on what they can do or how they could contribute to the church. If possible, we would like to avoid problematic people as such people could be a source of strife and division, leading to partisan politics within the church. Although the human logic is there, this is clearly against Jesus’s teaching in Mark 9, which is to welcome others like little children. The thing about little children is that as much as they are the future of the church, they are a long way away from adulthood and service. Instead, the church needs to provide for them. Therefore, the point is that we welcome others to our church regardless of what they can do or even if they can’t do much like the little children.
When we flip to the other side, we will see what Jesus meant. We are to welcome also the discards of society, the poor, and the downtrodden, including the drug addicts and beggars on the street. They may not be useful to us, and yet we are to welcome them as Jesus teaches. We don’t know their life stories, and it is not our place to pass judgment, but most importantly, Jesus loves them and died for their sins, too. Our obligation and responsibility is to help them and nurse them back to health so that they may become useful to society again.
Have a good week ahead, everyone! May Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour open doors for us to reach out and touch others through our lives that Christ may be glorified. The Kimgdom of Heaven is for the destitute, the poor, the hungry, and the thristy. Welcome all with open hearts so that everyone has the opportunity to be redeemed by Christ and accept Him as their Lord for eternal life!
Ronnie's Thoughts 