There’s something refreshing about being able to visit a friend without having to ask permission or to call ahead. If we open our homes to others, they can be places where food, conversation, and fellowship flow freely. In those settings we often feel at peace because the warmth of comfort and acceptance help us feel like we belong.

What if you visited a home that, instead of feeling like a space where you could relax and enjoy the company of others, seemed to you like a museum? What if the conversation with others was more like sharing information than sharing life? Your visit would likely feel rather cold, rigid, and dry.

But our hope, as Christians, should be that every church (both the building and the people inside it) should be like a welcoming home, a place full of grace, mercy, and unconditional love. A space where people can set aside their “baggage” and “burdens,” flop down on the couch of confession, and sink into the cushions of forgiveness and grace. A home is where you’re offered a drink of living water and the bread of life, where you experience glimpses of the eternal house of God.