A few years ago, an outdoor leisure company ran an ad to promote being active outdoors. The image they used was a welcome mat. Now typically, a welcome mat at the front door greets visitors as they are about to enter someone’s home. But in this commercial, the door was open and the welcome mat was facing outdoors. It was meant to encourage viewers to step outside, as if to say, “The world awaits!”

That image immediately made me think of us as believers, and what God’s Word tells us to do. Jesus told his disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:15-16).

Jesus also said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

These familiar verses speak about our call as Christians to actively and intentionally share the Good News with others. But as I think of these oft-quoted verses, another portion of scripture comes to mind.

Consider the parable Jesus taught in Luke 14:16-23.

 

“A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

“After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

 

When we think of sharing the gospel, I imagine our attention goes first to our families and loved ones. Of course, we desperately want the people we care about to come to a saving relationship with Jesus. If they don’t express any interest, we can easily be discouraged—but we never stop praying. You never know when someone crossing their path will share the gospel and they respond.

But as I think about this particular parable, I wonder if in our tunnel vision we’re missing other people that God places in our life who need the same consideration and attention.

The master in the parable was adamant that his house be full. He wanted anyone and everyone there. He sent his servant to go out to the places people don’t usually go, invite people who don’t usually get invited, and to do it quickly.

We may not notice it at first glance, but many people around us are just waiting to be invited to the banquet. Neighbors who seem less than sociable, or people at work who don’t easily engage. Those we come across while running errands or waiting in school drop-off and pick-up lines. Might the Lord want us to be burdened for their salvation as well?

Perhaps our distracted focus needs to be refocused—our view expanded to make room for those “in the alleys of town” where souls that are poor, crippled, blind, or lame dwell.

Do we need to shift the direction of the welcome mat in our hearts?

As we move through the busyness of daily life, are we willing to be aware of those we don’t typically notice? They need to know how much God sees and loves them.

While these may not be the first people we think of, the Lord may have them within your gaze for the express purpose of sharing the gospel. You may very well be the person that someone in their family has been praying for to invite them to the banquet!

So…who’s with me in this?

Let’s step outside our comfort zone with our welcome mats in hand, because the world awaits!