The invitation

People could yell at me.  They could think I’m weird.  They could slap me in the face for mentioning the name of Jesus Christ.  Plenty of people hated Jesus then, and plenty of people hate His name now.  But there’s blessing in offering an invitation.  The possibility of someone’s life being saved outweighs the risk of any flak flying my way.  When I invite friends to study the Bible, sometimes they decline.  But a sense of contentment comes with inviting.  Sometimes we’re the first link in the chain.  We invite people who come, and then they invite a subsequent group of friends who come.  Once my husband invited a neighbor to church.  The neighbor didn’t come.  Then a second invitation and a third.  When our neighbor eventually visited church, I felt like a party was happening in my heart.  Really the thrill was for the neighbor’s sake, though I was dancing too.  One time a friend came with me to Bible study.  She saw a poster on the wall and asked, “What’s that?”  The poster spelled the name Jesus.  It registered with me that this friend asked what, not who.  And consequently, may I never take invitations lightly.  We wonder, “What if people get mad?”  “What if they say ‘No’?”  Are we more concerned with pleasing God or pleasing people?  There’s validity in both, but which takes priority?  I should be able to hear the word no.  Actually much is revealed about us in the way we handle the word no.  I’m ready for the worst and hopeful for the best.