When Jesus is invited to the party – you might get free wine.
When Jesus is invited to the party – you might get free wine.
To pick up where I left off in my last post, God led me to live in community with some amazing women on one of the most diverse streets in Northeast Minneapolis. I’m convinced that everything about how we got here is led by intentional actions of a very alive God who continues to move in our world.
We have learned a lot while living intentionally to love each other and our neighbors in the name of Jesus. One thing we quickly realized is that “loving our neighbor” doesn’t simply mean thinking or feeling positively towards them (especially when some neighbors aren’t always the kindest people).
It turns out, truly loving your neighbor has a prerequisite of sorts: Letting your neighbor into your life when God brings peace between you.
To love people fully, you must know them. And to know them, you have to be willing to give them access to your life.
There seems to be a secret ingredient when it comes to the calling we each have to love our neighbors…
Food.
Last week we went around and invited as many neighbors as we could find to come over to our house for a Chili Feed. We try to invite our neighbors to our home about once a month, and food is always a part of the equation.
“I can smell the chili out in the street,” said a friend as they came in and soon there were forty of us packed in our house, sharing what we were thankful for and eating until we couldn’t take another spoonful. Matt and Wes from across the street brought their secret recipe chili and there was a lengthy discussion about how you pronounce the whitish veggie jicima.
I met Renee and Adam who live behind us, across the alley. Renee explained their commitment to Jesus and shared about what this meant to them in their lives. After I realized what house they lived in, it dawned on me…
“I have a story I need to tell you!” I blurted out, almost without thinking.
“A month before you bought your house, I was walking down your street with a couple friends. We were praying that the Kingdom of God would come on your street. I stopped in front of your house and I specifically asked God to bring people to your house who felt called to love their street the same way I felt called to love mine.” I explained.
“Woah,” Renee said with a grin, “I guess that means we’re an answer to prayer.”
She went on to tell me the story of her wedding just a year ago. She and Adam are both in their second marriage and told me they felt grateful that though they had pain and broken relationships in their lives, they knew Jesus’ love covered it all.
“Our pastor told one of my favorite stories at our wedding,” Renee said, “he talked about Jesus’ first miracle of turning the water into wine at the wedding feast. This is what our marriage is about, inviting God to the party.”
She paused.
“…I guess when you invite Jesus to the party, you might get free wine!”
That night we committed to each other that we would pray about what it would mean to love our community in the name of Jesus… together.
I have a feeling it might include more Chili feeds and other tasty food. Jesus modeled eating together as a way of sharing life. Shared meals seem like a great place to start living out his greatest commandment and the second one too!
And who knows: when we invite Jesus to the party… we will for sure continue to see miracles… and hey…we might get free wine!
When Jesus is invited to the party – you might get free wine.
To pick up where I left off in my last post, God led me to live in community with some amazing women on one of the most diverse streets in Northeast Minneapolis. I’m convinced that everything about how we got here is led by intentional actions of a very alive God who continues to move in our world.
We have learned a lot while living intentionally to love each other and our neighbors in the name of Jesus. One thing we quickly realized is that “loving our neighbor” doesn’t simply mean thinking or feeling positively towards them (especially when some neighbors aren’t always the kindest people).
It turns out, truly loving your neighbor has a prerequisite of sorts: Letting your neighbor into your life when God brings peace between you.
To love people fully, you must know them. And to know them, you have to be willing to give them access to your life.
There seems to be a secret ingredient when it comes to the calling we each have to love our neighbors…
Food.
Last week we went around and invited as many neighbors as we could find to come over to our house for a Chili Feed. We try to invite our neighbors to our home about once a month, and food is always a part of the equation.
“I can smell the chili out in the street,” said a friend as they came in and soon there were forty of us packed in our house, sharing what we were thankful for and eating until we couldn’t take another spoonful. Matt and Wes from across the street brought their secret recipe chili and there was a lengthy discussion about how you pronounce the whitish veggie jicima.
I met Renee and Adam who live behind us, across the alley. Renee explained their commitment to Jesus and shared about what this meant to them in their lives. After I realized what house they lived in, it dawned on me…
“I have a story I need to tell you!” I blurted out, almost without thinking.
“A month before you bought your house, I was walking down your street with a couple friends. We were praying that the Kingdom of God would come on your street. I stopped in front of your house and I specifically asked God to bring people to your house who felt called to love their street the same way I felt called to love mine.” I explained.
“Woah,” Renee said with a grin, “I guess that means we’re an answer to prayer.”
She went on to tell me the story of her wedding just a year ago. She and Adam are both in their second marriage and told me they felt grateful that though they had pain and broken relationships in their lives, they knew Jesus’ love covered it all.
“Our pastor told one of my favorite stories at our wedding,” Renee said, “he talked about Jesus’ first miracle of turning the water into wine at the wedding feast. This is what our marriage is about, inviting God to the party.”
She paused.
“…I guess when you invite Jesus to the party, you might get free wine!”
That night we committed to each other that we would pray about what it would mean to love our community in the name of Jesus… together.
I have a feeling it might include more Chili feeds and other tasty food. Jesus modeled eating together as a way of sharing life. Shared meals seem like a great place to start living out his greatest commandment and the second one too!
And who knows: when we invite Jesus to the party… we will for sure continue to see miracles… and hey…we might get free wine!