Missing out...

On Easter Sunday at Community of Joy, we had several first time guests.  I have a practice of emailing the guests on Monday following their visit.  Sometimes I get a response back and other times I don't.  I always enjoy when I get a response.

It was interesting to see that I got two responses on Monday from two people who both attended the same worship gathering.   One absolutely loved everything about it and said that they had not been in church for a long time and are excited about reconnecting with a church and see Community of Joy as that place.   The other one was from a person who didn't even make it through the first song.  In my email, I expressed concern for their well being as I was worried that they perhaps had become ill and had to leave.  That was not the case.  This person had seen several things that were upsetting to them, so much so that they got up and left.... a child pretending to sleep, a barefoot boy and another with a hat on.

As I have been reflecting on these two emails, I rejoice in the one that found a place that they want to connect, but am deeply saddened that the other person made a quick judgement and that caused them to miss out on possibly connecting with a great group of people and perhaps going to a deeper level of faith.   I know that we can't be all things to all people and I don't want to try!  But I am still saddened that we won't get the chance to show this person what a great group of people we are!

It occurs to me, that many of us are guilty of this same sort of behavior, we allow a quick judgement that we form in our mind to keep us from making a deeper discovery, often times finding that the very thing that we judged to be one way is far from the way it really is.  For instance... perhaps the sleepy child had gotten up early for Easter Sunrise and was struggling to stay awake.  Or perhaps the barefoot child came from a family that couldn't afford shoes.

I find it more helpful to extend grace rather than judgement!  I think that is how Jesus would teach us too!  In fact Sunday, we will look at one such teaching of Jesus from his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:1-12) as we resume our series on that Sermon.     When we extend judgment rather than grace, we cut ourselves off from one another and we miss out!