I was traveling by myself in Rome. One evening I went to a restaurant, hoping to get some dinner. They said they wouldn’t seat me because I was alone. There wasn’t money to be made in a single guy taking up a table. They quickly showed me to the door.

It was unpleasant and a little bit embarrassing to be told I wasn’t welcome. They had the food I was looking for, but I wasn’t the type of customer they were looking for.

Some people doubt God will welcome them to dine with Him. Their past is far from perfect. They have made bad choices and fell into sin. They feel it is foolish to think God is looking for them and would ever welcome them.

It is true that sinfulness is unwelcome at God’s table. We need to be forgiven and cleansed before a welcome can be received. But the welcome is extended and can be received because of Jesus’ death on the cross. Those who confess their sin and accept Christ’s forgiveness are welcomed in by faith. 

Sadly some congregations welcome certain people more than others. Families with kids that can bolster the youth group might be welcomed more than single or divorced people. Those with similar political opinions might receive a warmer welcome than those with contrary opinions. Those with money or from the same ethnic group or race might receive a warmer welcome than others.

Jesus told a parable of a man who prepared a great banquet. The first ones invited turned down the opportunity to attend the banquet. The master was angry with them and told his servants, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. … Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full” (Luke 14:21-23). 

The invitation to God’s banquet is not just for those who are religious and good rule followers. The religious leaders were surprised by who Jesus shared a meal with. “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” (Matthew 9:11). The poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame; the ones who confess their sin and their need are given a warm welcome by the Lord. Because of God’s grace there is a place at the Lord’s table for each of us who will receive it by faith. 

It is great to receive a welcome. We don’t always receive one from the world, but that doesn’t matter so much. What matters most is that because of Jesus, we are welcomed in to the family of God.