Have you ever been on the receiving end of an open invitation? It usually goes something like this: “Come over any time, just drop by – you’re always welcome.” It feels good to know that you’re accepted, valued and wanted, without conditions. Though open invitations are sometimes extended flippantly, they usually mean that you’re part of someone’s inner circle.

At the other end of the spectrum is an invitation to an exclusive event, at a set time and place, attended by specific individuals. You wouldn’t think of dropping by Buckingham Palace to chat with the Queen unless she summoned you in advance. Going to Washington to attend a gala event would be silly without an invitation.

Through Christ, God has extended an open invitation to us. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Isaiah 55:1) It sounds kind of crazy, doesn’t it? “You who have no money, come, buy and eat!” God’s extravagant love is crazy by our standards. It’s beyond human understanding. He has no favourites; He loves us without conditions.

No matter how hard we try not to, we value people for the wrong reasons. God values us simply because we bear his likeness, we belong to him. This levels the playing field and rightly ascribes the same value, called dignity, to everyone, from a prostitute in the slums of Calcutta to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

When you look at it this way, it makes sense that nothing matters more to God than how we treat people. Does our behaviour mirror God’s generous, unconditional love, or is it more akin to a tea party at Buckingham Palace? Notice I said behaviour, not words. Most believers become fluent in Christianese fairly quickly. As I read somewhere recently, we are educated beyond our obedience. What distinguishes an open invitation like God’s from an exclusive one?

• An open invitation requires commitment. Inviting someone to dinner is a nice thing to do, but it’s not a huge investment. There are limits and boundaries that are understood by both parties. You get to put your best foot forward when you know in advance that people are coming. The house is tidy, the kids are dressed in clean clothes, the food you serve is special. Guests are on their best behaviour and they will go home, eventually.
• An open invitation requires comfort with the unknown. If you like to be in control and worry about how you appear to others, you probably won’t be big on extending open invitations. It’s just too risky. People may interrupt your already packed schedule, and discover that your house doesn’t always look like the set of a show on HGTV.
• An open invitation can end up costing you a lot. Perhaps during one of your more expansive moments you’ve told some despondent soul that they’re always welcome at your home. Suppose they take you up on the offer? One day you find them on your doorstep with all their worldly possessions. They were so touched and moved by your Christ-like example that they’ve come to stay. Indefinitely. They have no job, no family, and few friends. You are about to take a crash course in the fruit of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control.

God’s open invitation is described in the Bible by the word “hospitality”, which is the heart of our mission as Christians. It’s an open-armed, crazy, upside-down, interruptions-are-welcome, makes-no-sense generosity that only those who know the ridiculous folly of their own inclusion on God’s guest list can begin to understand.

That’s why Jesus calls the weak, poor, blind and thirsty “blessed”. We’re blessed when we know that we bring nothing to the table in our relationship with God, except brokenness, poverty and need. We’re blessed when we see our true condition, regardless of how successful we look in the world’s eyes. The truth is this: We are shabby, dirty beggars, wearing the filthy rags of our own best efforts, hoping we might fool God’s Secret Service Detail and slip into the party unnoticed – like the nutty couple who crashed the White House State Dinner last fall.

The weird thing is, we don’t need to take such drastic, subversive measures to get close to God. His arms are wide open, welcoming everyone to the party. So what stops us? Pride is a biggie. But even when we’ve been at the party for a long time, pride sneaks back in. It’s sadly visible in the Body of Christ when we begin to think of ourselves as “chosen” and therefore superior to sinners. We are chosen – all of us. We forget our former estate; we lapse into seeking our value in what we do “for God”, much of which is really done for us; we jockey for position, title and status, wanting a seat at the best table.

Meanwhile, people outside the party, who hunger and thirst, are completely turned off by what they see.

Instead of recognizing a great opportunity to show humility, most Christians react defensively when confronted with how we are perceived by outsiders. We become guarded, pulling scripture out of a hat in an effort to magically make the problem go away, or at least assuage our conscience.

As I’ve said in other posts, I believe we’ve lost sight of our true mission. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but the first step in fixing something is to recognize that it’s broken.

Christians are committed, but not to extending God’s open invitation. We’re committed to ourselves. Why do I say this? Because our resources go mainly towards perpetuating a costly institution. The notion that inviting people to church equals evangelism, and this justifies the expense, is insane.

Christians are comfortable, but not with the unknown. Our idea of church is a rehearsed, choreographed performance, attended by a passive audience, week after week. It’s comfortable, it’s enjoyable, it’s entertaining – but is it church? Is this what Jesus died for?

Being a Christian in the west is cheap, generally speaking. “Church” is a performance; discipleship is pretty much optional; Christian service, which ought to take advantage of peoples’ unique natural and spiritual gifts, more often just takes advantage, filling a “need” to keep the machine running smoothly. I hope that when Jesus returns for his bride, she will not be in her present deformed state.

Read what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. It shows that his priority was to reach people with the good news of God’s open invitation.

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)